Memento Mori
by mayghaen17
Summary: Part 5. Elena is being sought out by the remaining Originals and it is a matter of time before they get to her and those of Mystic Falls...but little do they know that the final death for one of them is just around the corner...
1. Chapter 1

**a/n: this took me a little longer to pump out than I thought it would, but here it is :) For all of those that were questioning, this will definitely be the last installment and I have BIG, BIG plans for it :) Enjoy!**

ONE

I had no choice but to tell everyone that the Originals were planning on attacking. We had waited until Tyler came back from visiting his uncle because I did not want to repeat this information. "Elena, we're all here," John said from where he was lounging on the wall. "You're beginning to worry us."

I nodded and looked at Damon nervously. I had yet to tell him about Anya's prediction of my death and no matter how hard I tried to contact her again, nothing happened. There were times when I caught glimpses of her, but she seemed to always be running away. I shook myself as I refocused on everyone in the room. "On Valentines Day, the four of us went to a restaurant in Richmond. We were served wine laced with vervain from a human servant of the vampire named Velken. After we came back home, Bonnie found a page on crystals in her spell book. The next day we used Hemimorphite to connect me to Anya because we needed to get the order they were brought into this world."

"How do we defeat them?" Alaric asked.

"According to Anya, they all have the same weakness as Klaus. White ash wood," I added for those who didn't know that already. "We've already ordered some and it should be here either tomorrow or the day after."

"Should I call my uncle down? He said he would be willing to help if you needed it again," Tyler said and I smiled at him.

"That would be great. Anya also said they each had a special ability and she doesn't know what they are."

"That doesn't sound good," Anna muttered and I shook my head in agreement.

"Anya gave you the ability to kill them. Is it you alone that must preform the task?" Pearl asked.

I looked at her as I thought it over. "Honestly, I don't know. However, Tyler, John, and Alaric did do some damage to Klaus before I killed him. To be on the safe side, I think I should do the actual killing."

"So we'll me more or less herding them your way while you lie in wait with a stake," Damon said as he gave me a small smile.

"Something like that," I said and my eyes jumped around the room. "But we need a better plan than that. This isn't something we should rush into without being fully prepared." I hated not being able to tell them about Anya's prediction, but I needed the Originals dead to protect everyone in this room more than anything else. The worst part was that Damon knew I was lying to him and it was slowly driving a wedge between us no matter how hard I tried to stop it.

"Did she say when they would come?" Harper asked.

I shook my head and sighed, knowing I would have to explain the dream I had about Jenna's wedding. Not that she needed to hear this. I looked at her and she straightened up under the full weight of my stare. "What I'm about to say is not actually the future. Understand?"

"Yes?" she said with wide eyes.

"In the dream with Anya, she gave me a warning. There were vampires in the shadows and they started attacking everyone at the wedding. I could see any faces but there was blood everywhere and they killed-" I stopped to remind myself it wasn't real. "They killed some of you," I finished quietly.

"But-" Jenna started.

"No, I promise you, I can't see the future Jenna. It was just the setting of dream. She used the wedding to convey the importance," I assured her and saw Alaric's arm tighten around her waist. "We are not going to let anything bad happen at your wedding."

She nodded firmly to show that she was trying to believe me, but her thoughts betrayed her. "Why don't we go to them?" Jeremy asked.

I still had to get used to him being included in these sort of plans. I shook my head. "I don't know where they are and they're already coming here. It would be easier to fight on grounds we already know. It will give us some sort of an advantage."

"Um, I thought you were all powerful? How come you can't just take them out with your superpowers and be done with them?" Anna asked.

She sank back into her chair as all eyes rested on her in a harsh manner. "Trust me, if I could do that, I would," I explained and gave her a tight smile. "I'm strong, yes, but I can't take on all nine of them by myself. I do have some limits."

Damon snorted and I shook my head at his smirk. John spoke before I could. "My informants haven't reported any activity headed this way, so for now, we're safe."

"Yes, but that won't last long," Bonnie said for me.

"The best thing to do is go about your normal lives while being a little bit more aware of what's going on around you. The minute Elena says to come help her, we do," John informed everyone.

"Really?" Jeremy whined. "We have ancient vampires-"

"They're not all ancient," I interrupted him.

"We have really powerful demons out for us and you want us to just sit by idly while they plan an attack?" he continued.

"We're still going to think of ways to organize a counter strike, but yes, for the most part, act as if nothing is wrong," I said forcefully.

"Elena-"

"Jeremy!" I yelled back and got to my feet. "I know that you want to help and you will be there to fight this time, but you have to do this my way."

"Uncle John-"

"If John were saying something I didn't agree with, I would tell him. And they are after me, not anyone else. I don't want anyone to feed alone anymore and we'll get together more to make plans, but I've had enough for tonight," I said and took off to the backyard. "Go away," I mumbled as Damon came to stand beside me at the bottom of the stairs.

He ignored me and was silent for a few minutes while I stared up at the sky that was changing from day to night. "Did I do something?"

My head snapped towards him and my eyes widened in surprise. "No," I breathed and took his hand in mine. "Why would you think that?"

"Ever since we contacted Anya you've been distant. I know she told you something else and you're keeping it from us. Elena, tell me what she said. I hate not knowing what upset you."

I opened my mouth to tell him and then closed it. I pulled my hand out of his and stepped back. "I can't. I want to, but I can't."

"Why?"

"Damon-"

"Elena, keeping secrets from me is a terrible idea."

I nodded and looked down at the gap between us. "I know. It's just if I say it out loud, it's like admitting it's true." My voice was barely above a whisper at that point. "When I'm ready to talk about it, I will tell you."

He sighed as he tipped my chin up and pulled me to him with his other arm. "Promise?"

"Promise," I returned and felt a little better as his lips descended on mine. I relaxed into his hold and put my arms around him to bring him closer.

The sound of a throat clearing broke our kiss and I stepped away to look at John standing by the back door. "Sorry to bother you, but are you okay?"

I walked up the steps so we could talk face-to-face. I nodded and felt Damon's fingers interlock with mine. "I'm fine," I said and smiled lightly at him.

He looked from me to Damon and nodded curtly. "Devyn keeps talking about the dinner you mentioned."

I had to think for a moment before I remembered I had promised she and John could come over for a dinner with Damon and I. "Are you two free tomorrow?" I asked him and then looked at Damon. "I told Devyn you would cook for us."

He grinned wildly and I could see his ego grow a fraction. "I know you live with the other three and I explained that briefly to her so it would be alright if they were at the dinner too," he said, mostly to me.

"What should I make?" Damon asked him.

"She's not picky," he replied.

"I like her already," he said and John glared at him. "Relax, I'm engaged to your daughter," he added and put his arm around my shoulder. "And I am very aware that your girlfriend doesn't know about our true nature. I will be on my best behavior."

_I'll believe it when I see it_, John thought and then shifted in embarrassment when he saw my expression, telling him I had heard that. "I'll call you early so I can let you know if we can make it. I'm sure we can, but I will let you know."

"Thank you," I said and hugged him briefly before going back inside. I stopped in the kitchen at the sight of Jeremy. "Yes?" I asked.

"I just want to say I'm sorry. I know you're in charge and what you say is practically the law," he said and smiled. "As your little brother, I should be used to that."

I pushed his shoulder lightly as I returned his smile. "You better remember that before you speak next time. I promise you Jer, I will keep you in the loop on everything that goes on. You don't have to sit on the sidelines anymore."

He pulled me into a hug. "That's all I ask."

When I stepped away, I looked at him and Anna. "Remember, no hunting alone," I said and then waved them goodbye for the night. Pearl and Harper followed them with curt nods at me and Damon. Jenna and Alaric had already left and John had gone to his car from the backyard. I turned to the remaining three that lived here and let out a deep breath. "Okay, that went well."

Bonnie smiled and shook her head. "Sure. If you say so."

"If you guys don't have anything to do tomorrow, we're having Devyn and John over for dinner. You're more than welcome to eat with us, just keep in mind she doesn't know about us."

"That sounds fun. I would like to see what kind of girl John landed," Bonnie said with a smirk.

"It can't be much worse than what he's already had," Tyler chimed in and I gave him a hard stare. "Sorry, that was bad."

"No, it was true," I said and grinned. I ruffled his hair as I walked past him and to the foot of the stairs. "Damon's cooking, so any suggestions should be given to him," I said and began the ascent to my room.

I walked to the bathroom and slowly shed my clothes as the dream played out in my mind over and over again. I was very sick of seeing it and each time I told it to someone, the images kept getting more and more life-like. I started the shower and then finished undressing. Before I stepped into the stall, I glanced down and ran a hand over the skin on my abdomen. Even though it had been three months, I still expected to see a scar or any such thing that indicated Klaus had actually punched through me. I shook away the mental images and stepped under the spray of water. I closed my eyes and stayed unnaturally still as the water soaked my hair and smiled when I felt a change in the air. I opened my eyes and sure enough, Damon was in front of me. "I'm a little hurt you didn't invite me."

"I wasn't aware that I needed to invite you every time," I returned.

Instead of saying anything, he moved so that he was standing beneath the water and I was in his former place. He took a step forward until my back was against the smooth tile. He reached down and lifted me by the hips so I could wrap my legs around him. With him standing in front of me, the water from the shower head seemed to pelt off of his back; preventing any water from getting to me. He kept one arm underneath me for support and his other hand guided him inside of me before resting on my side. I put my hands on his shoulders to brace myself as he rocked his hips against mine. I leaned down a little bit so that I could kiss him and his hand crept up my side until he was touching my breasts. I groaned and my body arched out in response to his touch. My fingers dug into his shoulders, tinting the water pink as a trickle of blood ran his back. His hand trailed down my stomach before touching the bundle of nerves that ached for his touch. My head snapped back and bounced off the tile. My laughter was cut short as I moaned from the beginnings of my release. He came with me and inserted himself completely until we both settled down.

He stepped back just enough for me to slip down off the wall and I grinned up at him. He was looking at the wall in bewilderment. "You cracked the tile," he said in amusement as he looked at me.

I turned to see the cracks and chips before turning to look at him. "Didn't feel a thing," I said and felt the back of my head just to be sure there wasn't any damage. If there had been, it had healed already. I shrugged, "Gives you something to do."

"Me?" he asked and put his hands on his chest. "What makes you think I'm handy?"

I laughed and kissed his chest. "At least you're honest," I said and reached around him for the shampoo. I handed it to him and turned around. In a few seconds, his hands were twining in my hair, lathering it with the calming lavender scent that filled the small space. It still amazed me that after two years of being with him I still wanted him they way I had the first time. It was a good sign since we had an eternity to look forward to. I smiled brightly as he massaged my scalp while thinking of the future. My smile began to fade as I realized that if Anya was right, our eternity would be cut short. The not knowing when or how my final death would happen was starting to overwhelm me and I was afraid I would become obsessed with it.

"Elena?" Damon's voice cut through my thoughts. It had that tone that told me he had been calling my name a few times. I turned around to look at him and he pulled me under the water to rinse my hair out.

"Daydream," I lied and made an effort to smile at him.

He smiled lightly, "As long as it's about me, I'll ignore it." The rest of our time in the shower was focused on getting clean and it was done in silence, with minor flirting via body language. After we towel dried, I pulled on sleeping shorts and a tank top while he watched me dress, keeping the towel wrapped around his hips. "Isn't it a little early to go to sleep?" he asked, his eyes flickering towards the window to view the sky that had just turned dark not long ago.

"Yes, but I wasn't planning on sleeping." I held up my hand as his eyes glinted with possibilities. "I just don't want to be around anyone else."

He looked around the room with a smirk. "There's no one else here."

"I was thinking more along the lines of planning dinner."

He frowned. "Really?"

I had to bite my lip to keep my grin from being too wide. "No," I said and in an instant, I was beneath him on the bed.


	2. Chapter 2

**a/n: I should have said this in the first chapter but...Memento Mori is Latin for "remember you must die" so if you didn't know that before...now you do :)**

TWO

To everyone's surprise, both Damon _and_ Stefan had gone to the store together to get whatever they needed to make dinner. It was only noon, but John had called and said he and Devyn would be here at six for dinner. Bonnie and I were on the couch watching TV when Tyler wandered down. "Where are the Salvatores?" he asked.

"Shopping," Bonnie said as I followed his movements with my eyes.

He stopped moving entirely and looked directly at me. "Together? Are they going to be okay?" he said and resumed in grabbing the bottle of beer from the fridge. "What are they shopping for?" he asked, sitting between the two of us.

Just like everyone else, Bonnie was weary about the two of us together; though she was one of the few that actually knew why it wasn't a good idea. She gave me a worried look to which I shrugged and she looked back at the TV. "Damon and Stefan are cooking for Bonnie, John, Devyn, and me."

He choked and his eyes widened. "Again...What's wrong with them? I didn't know Stefan could cook."

"Me neither," Bonnie and I said in unison. We smiled uneasily at each other for a second and I scooted closer to the arm of the couch.

Tyler took another drink to avoid saying anything for a few seconds and then looked at me. "Would it be awkward if I stayed?"

I shook my head. "No, not really. I think it would be more awkward for you," I said honestly and then immediately wished I hadn't.

However, he took it better than I thought he would have. "Speaking of, can I talk to you for a minute?"

I could see Bonnie smiling. "Seriously? You don't think she's not going to tell me?" She rolled her eyes as Tyler turned to look at her. "I'm watching this. You two take it outside." _But keep your distance,_ she added to me and I nodded as I led Tyler out to the back porch.

"What is it?" I asked. I didn't trust myself enough to be alone with him.

"I met someone in Maine."

I was waiting for more of an explanation, but the look on his face said there wasn't going to be any. "And...?"

"And I just thought you should know."

I narrowed my eyes in confusion and shook my head. "I'm not following."

He sighed and his thoughts were a tangled mass of emotions. "Look, I know we're not together and we never will be, but there's still something between us so I thought I should tell you."

There was more and I caught it in his thoughts before he said it aloud. I straightened and my lips parted slightly. "Oh," I breathed and immediately felt sad.

"Uncle Darren agreed to help and I called him last night. He's still going to honor his agreement and once the Originals are gone..." his voice tapered off and he raked a hand through his hair. "When this is all over, I'm moving to Maine to join the pack," he said firmly.

"That's good news," I said even though it didn't sound convincing.

"I figured you would 'hear' it before I told you. I wanted to tell you face-to-face. I know we were never that good of friends until I came here that day and I will always be grateful that you were the one that found me. I can't even begin to thank you enough for helping me and taking care of me. If you ever need me for anything, let me know and I'll be there. Of course, you can drop in when you feel like it too."

I nodded and tried to smile. It was one thing to always know there would be a time when things would change, but to have it become a reality was jarring. "The same goes for me," I stated.

He laughed then. "Imagine how weird it will be to see you in ten or twenty years and-" he stopped talking at my expression. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

"It's okay," I whispered. I knew it would be inevitable; my friends and family would grow old and die while I remained the same for all eternity. On the other hand, if Anya was right, I wouldn't have to worry about that. I shook my head to clear my thoughts and smiled at the puzzled look on his face. I stepped forward and hugged him lightly. "I'm so happy for you. I know you must feel relieved to be with people who are just like you. No more pretending."

He slid his arms around me and pulled me tight against him. "Right, no more pretending," he murmured and then I heard and felt him take a deep breath while inhaling my scent.

I stiffened as I realized the hug was not a good idea. His heart hammered in his chest and the beat of it coursed through me. My canines slid down at the sound of his blood pumping through his veins. I wet my lips at the thought of biting into his skin, tasting the rich, coopery blood... I was practically salivating and from the quick rise and fall of his chest, I could tell Tyler was too. His thoughts were clear now and they were focused on me. His hands moved up and down my back in a somewhat soothing manner and I felt my lips touch the side of his neck. He tipped his head to the side and he shivered as my fangs grazed him. My tongue darted out to lick his skin and I felt his arousal loud and clear. I opened my jaw and just before I bit down, I jumped back and pushed him away at the same time. "What the hell?" I shouted as best I could with a shaky voice.

He held his hands up and winced as he tried to move. "I- it wasn't on purpose!" his voice was strangled due to his misshapen face. His teeth were razor sharp and his eyes had turned golden from bloodlust.

"I think you should stay somewhere else tonight," I stated.

He nodded and then looked down before meeting my eyes again. "I'll leave, but you'll have to give me a minute."

I bit my lip to keep from smiling and put a hand over my mouth as I felt my fangs draw blood. I hurried into the house and slammed it shut. I put my back to the door and waited until I heard Tyler leave before returning to the living room. I licked the blood from my face after my lips heeled and Bonnie looked up. "At least your eyes aren't glowing," she said after giving me a long, hard look. "You okay?"

"This close," I said and held up my right hand to show her my thumb and index finger barely separated. "Tyler will not be joining us tonight."

She nodded. "What did he have to tell you?"

"After everything settles down he's moving to Maine to join his uncle's pack."

"Really?" she said and reached forward to grab my hand. "I'm sorry. I know you guys have gotten to be close. That has to hurt."

I tried to smile as I pulled my hand from her and ignored the look of hurt on her face. "It's easier that way. Now I won't have to watch him get older." She looked away quickly and I stood up. "Excuse me," I added quietly and went upstairs to sulk until it was time to be social.

* * *

The moment they had come back from the store, they began setting up and prepping. Bonnie and I cleared the blood bags from the fridge and moved it to the one in the basement just in case. I retreated upstairs to be by myself until it was time to eat. I dressed up a little before heading downstairs to help Bonnie set the table. "Smells good," she said.

I nodded, "Yes it does."

"Elena-"

I cut her off with a warning glare. "I'll be fine."

I could hear the thoughts swirling inside her head and I had to throw up walls so that I could block her out. The doorbell rang at exactly six and it was slightly amusing that he didn't just walk in. I took a moment to draw out what happiness I had left for the day and smile as I opened the door. Devyn's eyes were huge as she took in the sight of the boarding house. "It's huge," she breathed in awe as I stepped back to let them enter. "And it smells delicious."

"Damon and Stefan have been slaving away in the kitchen," I explained.

"Stefan?" John asked and I gave him the expression that told him I was just as surprised.

"What would you like to drink?" I asked as I led them to the dining room after taking their coats. I grinned at Devyn's thought about us being underage. "Damon keeps very expensive liquor around," I assured her and hoped it sounded natural.

"Ah, to live with a permanent alcohol supplier," she teased. "Wine?"

"White or red?"

"Red please," she answered and John said he would have the same.

I gestured for them to have a seat. "I would introduce you to Damon now, but he's very scary when he cooks," I explained and then went to get a bottle from the wine cooler in the kitchen. "They're here," I announced and Damon only nodded.

"You two go sit with them, we're almost done," Stefan said to Bonnie and I.

I took a bottle to the table and poured some in all of the glasses. "This is Bonnie Bennett. She's been my best friend since birth. Bonnie, this is Devyn Cooper."

"Nice to meet you," Devyn said with a smile that Bonnie returned.

"Same to you," she replied and took her seat. It was an oval table and we had it arranged for Damon and I to be at each end with Bonnie and Stefan on one side leaving Devyn and John on the other. As soon as we sat down, Stefan and Damon came in each carrying a tray. They put food on everyone's plate, returned the trays to the kitchen, and then took their seats as well.

"Damon and Stefan Salvatore, this is Devyn Cooper," I introduced them and they exchanged pleasantries.

The first bite of food that I had reminded me that I was hungry and I chided myself for not eating beforehand. I wasn't exactly in the mood for being polite or social, but I was trying. Damon was being his usual charming self and his ego was definitely growing from all of Devyn's compliments. For me, it was getting harder and harder to pretend to be interested as the sound of three heartbeats filled my ears. "Elena?" John said quietly as he slid his hand over mine.

I jumped slightly and looked at him. "Sorry," I muttered and forced a smile. "Just reliving our time in Italy," I lied when I realized all eyes were on me.

Damon was eyeing me suspiciously as were Stefan and Bonnie, but they let it go for now. "I've always wanted to go to Italy," Devyn said after a few moments of awkward silence.

"It's gorgeous," I told her. "We were there only a few weeks, but it was a great few weeks."

She smirked and I had to look away as I caught her thoughts. _I wonder if they even left the hotel to see it. If I had someone that good looking I..._ I stopped listening then and cleared my throat.

"It really was," Damon said and winked.

Then Devyn asked something none of us had really prepared an answer for. "So Elena, how did you and Damon meet? Was it love at first sight?"

Uneasy glances were exchanged by everyone as we all stopped mid-chew as we thought of a way to answer that. Stefan looked away, Damon's eyes were snapping with curiosity at how I was going to answer this, and Bonnie was shifting uncomfortably. I laughed nervously as I held Devyn's gaze. "Actually, I hated Damon when I first met him."

Her eyes widened in surprise. She looked at him and then back at me. "Really? Ooh, this sounds like a great story."

I looked at everyone, waiting for someone to say no and then shrugged. "I was actually dating Stefan when I met Damon," I said quietly. "So, no, it wasn't love at first sight. I couldn't stand Damon when I first met him."

"When did things change?" she asked.

There was no way to answer this one tactfully. Leave it to Damon to be blunt. "It was only a matter of time before she realized we were meant to be."

Stefan glared at him and I could see his fist clench. "Damon," I said in a warning tone. To Devyn, I said, "It's really, really complicated."

She swallowed loudly. "Um, so John told me you took a trip to Europe after graduation. Where else did you go besides Italy?" she asked as a way to change the subject. After that, the rest of the dinner was somewhat normal with minimal tension.


	3. Chapter 3

**a/n: I love how you guys are pretty much divided in half when it comes to Tyler/Elena...so the question is, should I write more of it or leave it alone?**

THREE

After dinner, Damon and Stefan began clearing plates, but I stopped them. "You cooked, we'll clean."

"That's cue for girl gossip time," John said as he and Devyn stood up. He planted a kiss on her cheek that got a real smile from me. "Beers?"

Both boys nodded and they disappeared to the back porch with their beer. "He's an amazing cook. They both are. Where did they learn?" Devyn asked.

"Damon says it's because he's Italian," I replied and she laughed.

I started filling the sink while Devyn loaded the dishwasher and Bonnie brought the remaining dishes from the dining room. "Look, I'm really sorry about putting you on the spot like that at dinner."

"There was no way you could have known about the drama," I informed her with a light smile.

"But seriously, now that the boys aren't here and you can't hurt their egos, what really happened between you and Stefan? And what about you?" she asked, nodding to Bonnie. "I thought there was a rule that you don't date your best friend's ex."

She smiled and nodded at me. "There is, but there's also a rule that you don't date your ex's brother."

Devyn smiled around her wine glass. "Touche," she replied and then looked at me. "So..."

"When we were still in high school, Stefan's ex came back into town and since she was a little psychotic, she caused problems. She made it look as though she were hurt and Stefan went to her and Damon..." I paused as I remembered that night in the hotel room. "And Damon was there to help me get through it."

"Damon and Elena went away to Europe after graduation until it was Jeremy's turn to graduate. She was missed and it brought her family and friends closer," Bonnie added.

"That's how you and Stefan got together," Devyn concluded as she handed me the now empty glass.

"We waited until we told her face-to-face."

"Wow. Now that's a true best friend." She was looking at Bonnie in astonishment. "I admire the two of you very much. I'm very honored to know you," she said to both of us with a sincere smile on her face. "I just want you to know, that whatever happens, I will never try to replace your mother," she said and reached for my hand.

I squeezed it reassuringly and made sure I held her gaze. "If we're talking about my birth mother, feel free to replace her."

She grinned uneasily and wasn't sure what else to say so she gave me a quick hug. "Is there dessert?"

"Knowing them, yes," Bonnie said and looked at me. "Elena, I think I saw Stefan put something in the basement fridge. Why don't you go see what it was?" she insisted and I thanked her mentally.

That little hug from Devyn had pushed me over my restraint and I knew full well that my fangs were beginning to show. "Be right back," I said and had to force myself not to run towards the basement. The moment I was out of sight, I used my speed to get to the fridge and drank greedily from three bags before I began to feel my hunger ebb. My incident with Tyler earlier was still racing through my mind. I had been so focused on the blood that Stefan's presence when I turned around made me jump. "Hey."

"Damon's upstairs showing off his culinary skills."

"Why are you down here?"

"Bonnie asked me to check on you."

I nodded and ran my tongue over my lips to get the blood off. Luckily, none had spilled any further than the corners of my mouth. "I'm better now."

"Are you?"

I held his gaze for a moment and then moved to the trash can we kept for empty bags. "Yes," I said after I replaced the lid.

"Elena, that's a lie and you know it. You've been off since we came back from the store and Damon's noticed it too, but he said you won't talk about it."

"What makes you think that if I won't talk to him that I'll tell you?" I asked and crossed my arms. "Besides, my mood for tonight has nothing to do with what Damon knows I'm not telling him."

"What happened while we were gone?"

I stood there for a long moment of silence. "Tyler," I finally muttered and Stefan straightened. "Nothing happened. He told me that after everything is over, he's joining his uncle's pack in Maine. I hugged him and almost bit him, but I stopped in time. But it got me to think about things."

"What things?" he asked as he took a step closer.

I sighed and then stared at him in a manner to convey the importance of my thoughts. "That once everything is over, all the vampires should leave Mystic Falls. For good. That includes you."

"Bonnie-"

"Bonnie is a prime example of why you should leave. Asking her to turn would be like killing Grams all over again. I know it would be her choice, but she would come to regret it and it would make her turn against us. And I'm not going to sit by and watch as my friends and my family grow old and die before my eyes. I'm going to talk to Jeremy and them tomorrow, but when we leave, we should cut ties too."

"What about your wedding to Damon?"

"That's not really important right now. I know it would be amazing and great to have everyone be there. What girl hasn't dreamed about her wedding since she was little, but it just doesn't seem right. Why give people a false sense of normality? I just can't be here any longer than I have to be. Once Velken is sent back to his plane, we leave. And if any of you so much as thinks about staying, I will compel you to leave and never return."

He nodded and took another step forward. "So what is really bugging you? Ever since we contacted Anya, you've been distant. What did she say to you?"

I shook my head and fought back tears. "Like I told Damon, I'll talk about it when I can."

"Elena-"

"Damn it Stefan, will you just let it go!" I hissed and I felt my fists clench at my sides. I relaxed from his expression and let a little air. "I'm sorry, it's just finally getting to me."

"What is?"

"The concept of mortality. I didn't think much of it until I thought I was losing Damon," I breathed and in the next instant he was holding me.

His hands trailed up and down my back soothingly as he whispered things like "It's alright" and "you'll get used to it" but I was unconvinced. Since getting Damon back, it was getting harder and harder not to use the inner switch. I know Damon used to leave his emotions off as a way to cope with his actions and quite frankly, being ruthless and uncaring had given me a newfound respect for my nature.

I closed my eyes and just relaxed against him until I felt the air shift in the room. I opened my eyes to see Damon lounging against the wall as he stared at us with his hands folded in front of him. I pulled back from Stefan and cupped his face before walking over to Damon. "Thank you."

He nodded and walked upstairs. "Everything okay down here?" Damon asked as he pulled me to him.

"Did you hear what I told Stefan?"

He shook his head. "I was entertaining Devyn before I finally got what the witch was trying to tell me with her eyes."

I smiled into his chest at that image and slid my hands into the back pockets of his jeans. "I was telling Stefan about what happened earlier with Tyler while you were at the store."

Instantly his nose was in the crook of my neck and he inhaled deeply before looking at me with puzzled blue eyes. "I don't smell wolf."

I smiled and reached up to kiss him lightly. "Nothing happened, but he did tell me he's leaving after this is all over," I said and told him exactly what I had told Stefan. "What do you think about leaving?"

He reached down to cup my face and stroked my cheeks with his thumbs. "I thought it was a smart thing to do when I did it, and I still think it's a smart thing. You have humans here that mean everything to you and if we stick around, people are going to notice. The last thing we need is to be found out. It won't be easy, but we can do it. You can do it."

I hesitated as I looked up at him. "There is one more thing."

He narrowed his eyes while his lips twitched in attempts to hide a smile. "Yes?"

"I think we should bring Stefan with us."

He swore. "Elena-"

"I was totally kidding," I said and grinned before he kissed me. "Come on, we're being rude," I added and pulled him upstairs to eat the dessert.


	4. Chapter 4

FOUR

My ringtone woke Damon and I the second it started going off. I didn't look at the caller ID as I answered it and the moment I heard the other voice, I wished I would have let it go to voicemail. "I heard you're back in town," came Caroline's voice.

"Uh, yes," I replied and looked wildly at Damon who only shrugged and laid down again, tucking his hands behind his head. "Can you give me a minute?" I asked and put my hand over the phone so she couldn't hear me. "I thought you compelled her to leave me alone," I hissed.

"The compulsion must have worn off. It was almost a year ago."

"It wears off?"

He nodded. "Usually by then the human drops the subject."

I glared at him as I removed my hand and cleared my throat. "What can I do for you Caroline?"

"Matt and I are coming down for Spring Break and we realized we haven't seen any of you in a long time. I was at my dad's last summer and Matt said you ignored him last time."

"I didn't do it on purpose," I assured her although it wasn't quite true. "When is break?"

"We come back Friday."

"That's tomorrow," I said in a deadpan voice.

"We have one class today and then a party tonight. We'll head back in the morning. Want to grab dinner at the Grill?"

"Don't you want some time with your mother?"

"Why?" she asked in a snappy tone.

"Alright, alright. I'll see you both tomorrow I guess," I said and she hung up without saying goodbye. I put the phone on the nightstand and sat back against the headboard. "That would have been nice to know," I said to Damon.

"Are you going to tell her?" he asked, as he rolled to his side to look at me.

I shook my head. "No," I breathed and then sighed heavily. "Matt knows. Stefan told him to leave me alone around the time you told that to Caroline."

"Matt was just told not to intervene where Klaus was concerned and to stay out of your way. When you see him, tell him that Klaus is no longer around but there are things that he can't help with either. Be honest with him."

I narrowed my eyes and felt his forehead. "Are you feeling okay? I thought you didn't want them to know about us?"

He moved so he was closer to me and he rubbed his cheek against the outside of my thigh. "Tyler is living here and I put up with him. Matt, I do not have to put up with. If you tell him to stay away, he will. He's of no use to you and he knows it."

I grinned at the playful distaste Tyler's name brought to Damon's lips and I ran my fingers though his hair. "All I have to do is say goodbye to them before they leave at the end of their break and that will be it." The prospect of never seeing Matt and Caroline didn't hurt as bad as it should have. I knew it was largely due to the fact that I hadn't seen them for the better part of a year.

Damon moved so he was sitting beside me and he tucked some of my hair behind my ear. "Matt was your first love correct?"

I thought that one over. "He was my first boyfriend. I think Stefan was my-" I stopped and smiled uneasily. It felt strange knowing that the only two people I had been with romantically were both of the brothers.

"You think or you know?" he asked with a bit of seriousness in his voice. "If you know, that's one thing. If you think, it means I have to hurt someone."

I met his gaze. "It was definitely Stefan."

His eyes sparkled with arrogance then as he smirked before pressing his lips onto mine. "It's not like there was ever any real competition in the first place," he whispered.

I shoved him playfully and smiled into a kiss. "What did we say when it came to talking about Stefan?" I asked as I pulled back.

He looked as though he was listening to something and then grinned. "He's not here."

"That's not-" I started and was cut off as he pulled me underneath him.

My thoughts were cut short as he delivered a very long and demanding kiss that I returned in full. My hands wandered down his bare back, Damon only wore boxers to bed and that was on the nights he chose to wear something. He was wearing black silk boxers that were tightening quickly as he pressed against me. I slid the tips of my fingers beneath the band to rest on his hips. Before I could reach any further, he started kissing his way down my flimsy nightgown. Just the sight of him slithering down sent a wave of pleasure through me as did the feel of the material against my skin as he pushed it up. I pulled my legs up and felt my eyes flutter as he slipped a finger inside me. I sank back against the pillows as he moved his tongue expertly.

Just as my head began to bind, my phone rang and it was Jenna's ringtone. "Voicemail," I said in a raspy voice although he hadn't intended on stopping anyway. The ringing stopped and I ground my head against the pillows and ran my fingers through his hair at my oncoming release. "Damon," I breathed and he continued until I was completely done. He came back up to kiss me and the phone rang yet again. It was Jenna and I knew it was important so I answered it. "Hello?" I asked, my voice still raspy.

Leave it to Damon to keep things going. He was kissing his way down my neck and shoulder until he was able to pull my nightgown down so he could divide his attention to my breasts. "How many rooms does the boarding house have?" came Tyler's voice.

I pulled the phone away from my ear so I could read the caller ID and it was Jenna's number. "Are you at Jenna's?" I asked.

"She let me stay here last night," he replied.

"Oh, um, hang on," I stammered and lifted Damon's head up long enough for me to ask. "How many rooms are here?" I asked and realized that the four rooms I did know of in a house this size always did seem a little odd.

"Quite a few."

"Where are they?"

He looked irritated that I had stopped him. "Past the stairs on the main floor, there's a door that leads to another wing of the house. It's not very big and it's mostly used storage at the moment. Why, what does the wolf need them for?"

"Tyler, why do you need to know?"

"Uncle Darren and the pack are coming down in the next few days and I know we had a place for them last time, and I just thought there was more space there than anywhere else."

Damon grabbed the phone from me and put it to his own ear. "We'll see what kind of state they're in later," he said gruffly and hung up the phone before handing it to me to set back on the nightstand. "Now, where were we?" he breathed in my ear before he kissed me. The sensation sent a wave of pleasure coursing though me as I pulled him back over me. Both of our fangs were out the moment he slid inside of me and my fingers were twined in his hair as he set a very fast pace. My body rose and fell in time to his thrusts and he moved his head to the curve of my neck and sank his fangs in. I bit his shoulder and our release was both instant and incredible.

I moved my mouth from his shoulder and lapped up the excess blood before stroking his back. He was nuzzling my neck in a way that was telling me he was almost ready to go again. I laughed lightly to myself and gently pushed him off of me. "I would love to, but I need to go to Jenna's to go over some details."

"Tyler's there," he said flatly after I had gotten to my feet.

I studied him and had to bite my lip to keep from smirking. I reached out and lightly cupped his jaw. "You're awfully cute when you're jealous," I teased and pulled back as he nipped at my hand. "I'll make sure he's gone before I get there. Don't worry," I added in assurance and went to the bathroom to take a quick shower. Sure enough, Damon was there alongside me the moment I stepped under the water.

* * *

Fifteen minutes after being at Jenna's, she got a phone call and excused herself to talk with a client. She was still on the phone more than an hour later and since it was close to lunchtime, I decided to make something for her. While I was in the process, Bonnie came in, looked around for Jenna, and then started scolding me. "Stefan told me what you said to him last night. Elena, you, of all people, should know that you shouldn't put words in my mouth. When have I ever told you that I didn't want to be a vampire?"

"You-"

"I'm not finished," she said and held up a hand to cut me off. I clamped my lips shut and let her continue. "Yes, in the beginning, I hated Stefan and Damon because of what Grams had told me about vampires. I've met more good ones than bad ones, allowing me to make up my own mind. Yes, Damon is as bad as they get without being like Klaus, but he's changed. He's not the same person he used to be."

I grinned and pointed at her. "Don't ever let him hear you say that," I warned. "He'll try and prove you wrong."

She smiled lightly and nodded. "Duly noted. As for what you said to Stefan, I know that you're finally beginning to understand mortality and how it will effect those who live forever, but if I want to change, I will."

I let it sink in and we just stared at each other. "Do you?" I asked.

"I don't know," she said and slipped onto one of the bar stools. Her rush of anger was gone and I went back to making lunch. "I've been thinking about it. I know witches hate vampires and all that, but I like what I am and I really don't know if turning will erase that or not."

I smiled at her and pointed to myself. "Look, what I am is a complete freak of nature. None of my being is normal by any supernatural means. For all you know, you could be a vampire-witch, you may not; it's a pretty big risk," I said and finished off the sandwich that would have been Jenna's. I gave it to Bonnie and she nodded her thanks before biting into it. "Do you love him?" I asked and she stopped mid-chew.

She swallowed thickly and looked at me. I was determined to hear her answer aloud rather than in her head so I took a few steps back to make it easier. "A part of me does, but it's not the 'I want to be with you forever' kind of love. Besides, it's obvious that he's still in love with you and I'm not going to try and compete anymore."

My jaw dropped at her revelation. "Excuse me?"

She stared at me in disbelief and took another bite. "Really? You're going play dumb on this topic?"

"Bonnie, he doesn't...Stefan has..." but try as I might, I couldn't think of anything to say other than the truth.

"He tries to hide it, but there are times when it's painfully clear to both of us. He would never try to break things up with you and Damon, but he can't help but hope. Think about it; would Stefan have started drinking human blood again for anyone else? Would he have gone around the world for any length of time to find his brother if you hadn't been involved?" She shook her head on that one. "Okay, he might have done that."

"I don't know what to say," I finally managed to get out. I shook my head slowly and leaned back against the counter. "Then why would you be considering turning into a vampire?"

She held my gaze evenly and I could feel my eyes widen to the point I thought they were going to pop out of my skull. "You've been my best friend since I can remember and knowing that the last time I hear from you or see you is right around the corner doesn't sit well with me. It actually breaks my heart. Besides, what would you do without me by your side?" she asked in a teasing manner. "If you're going to live forever, you're going to need someone you can turn to when Damon's been an ass for something stupid his ego made him do and you can't go to Stefan because that would be awkward. If I were there..." her voice trailed off, leaving me to fill in the blanks.

I wanted to tell her that I may not live forever, but I pushed that thought away. "Fair enough. Have you talked to Stefan about this?"

She shrugged, but her body stiffened with the signs of rejection. "He said he would never turn anyone."

I could vaguely recall him saying something similar to that a long, long time ago. "Then how-" I stopped short and felt my eyes widen yet again.

"Did you really think I would ask anyone else?"

I shook my head automatically. "I understand it's your life and your choice, but I'm having issues with supernatural blood right now and you having mine might mess you up."

"But your blood could also help me retain my powers when I turn."

I nodded slowly as Jenna came back into the room finishing her phone call. "I'll think it over, but I'm not saying yes or no until you are one hundred percent sure this is what you want."

She got up and hugged me hard. "I will let you know," she breathed and pulled away.

"Hey Bonnie, when did you get here?" Jenna asked as she sat on a barstool and I slid a plate of food her way. "Thank you."

"Just a few minutes ago. I needed to talk to Elena," she explained as she sat down again to finish her food.

Jenna nodded and looked around. "That was a long conversation," I said as I took the third barstool on the opposite side of Jenna.

She rolled her eyes and nodded. "You're telling me."

I laughed lightly. "Favorite client?"

"Mhmm," she said dryly. "Just some extremely picky clients looking for a charming country estate with big city tastes. Very annoying," she added. "Alright, where were we on the plans?" she asked me and we spent the better part of the day continuing wedding plans with Bonnie's input as well.


	5. Chapter 5

**a/n: the funny thing is I fully intended Devyn to be normal...needless to say, that plan didn't work that well.**

FIVE

Before I was to leave for the Grill, I decided it was best to eat until I was full to the point of being sick. It had taken six blood bags to do the trick and I was fairly certain that I could sit in a room full of beating hearts and not go crazy with want. I put the bags in the trash can and when I turned around, Stefan was there by the entrance of the little room. "Hey," I said, trying to sound casual. I had gone out of my way to avoid him yesterday and today since I had the talk with Bonnie.

"Bonnie said she talked to you."

I studied him. "She did, and to be honest, I don't have time for this right now. I'm about to go to the Grill to see Caroline and Matt."

He nodded. "Would you like some company?"

"Thank you, but no," I said and pushed past him. I had already told Damon to stay home, bringing Stefan (who Caroline and Matt actually liked) would just anger him.

He put his hand on my arm as I passed and I stopped to look back at him. "We do need to talk."

"Fine," I said and pulled my arm from him before continuing to the bathroom on the first floor to wipe the excess blood from my face. After that was done, I grabbed my purse and headed for the Grill.

If I had sped there, I would have been too early so I took my time in getting there. As a result, I was two minutes late. Matt and Caroline already had a table inside and I slid into the empty booth across from them. "For a second I thought you changed your mind," Matt said as he smiled at me.

Caroline was studying me. "Did you get contacts?"

I had to think for a second about what she meant. "Oh, yeah. I wanted to change things up."

She wrinkled her nose. "Why didn't you just cut your hair?"

I shrugged and let that conversation die. "How is college life?"

That changed Caroline's attitude immensely. She straightened up, a huge smile on her face, and she was radiating pure joy. "It's amazing. When are you going to join us?"

I had never even thought that question would come up and I was kicking myself. I shrugged again. "I always wanted to, but-"

"You can't just sit around with Damon all day. That's going to get old," Matt said for me and realized what he said. _Sorry_, he added to me mentally.

I inclined my head to him. "After my parents died, my priorities changed and college just doesn't fit in with what I have planned right now," I explained lamely.

Caroline sensed that I didn't want to talk any more about it and launched into stories she had been dying to tell me for almost two years. While she and Matt reminisced, we ordered our food and ate when it came to the table. Caroline barely let Matt and I get a word in which was fine with both of us. Most of her stories were about parties and the crazy thing that happened at each of them. It made me feel somewhat normal. At least until I looked up and saw Devyn at the entrance. She met my gaze and for the first time, I sensed that something was off. There was a golden hue to her vibrant green eyes that had never been there before and she moved as silently and swiftly as a cat until she was at the table, grinning at the three of us. "Sorry to interrupt," she said in that sickly sweet tone.

Matt and Caroline looked at both of us as they wondered who she was and how she knew me. "Matt, Caroline, this is Devyn Cooper. She's dating John. Devyn, these are my friends Matt and Caroline."

To my surprise, Devyn slid into the booth beside me, making me feel trapped. "Your uncle?" Caroline asked in disbelief.

"Um, no. I found out John is actually my father."

Caroline nodded and I silently thanked her for being so self-absorbed that she wasn't going to make me explain. "Nice to meet you," she said to Devyn.

"Why weren't you two at dinner the other night?" Devyn asked and then looked at me.

"They just came in today for Spring Break," I explained and decided it was time to take a look inside her head.

"How long have you been seeing John?" Matt asked.

As they got to know the basics about each other, I tuned them out so I could concentrate on Devyn's mind. I was utterly shocked by what I found out and even more surprised at the fact that I hadn't noticed it before. Everyone in the Grill turned around at the commotion at the front door as Tyler burst in and hastily scanned the crowd for me. _Outside, now_, he demanded at me and went back outside.

Not that I thought it was a good idea, but he did sound extremely urgent. "What was that about?" Devyn asked in that tone that said she already knew.

"I'll go find out, excuse me," I said and she reluctantly let me up to go outside.

I followed Tyler's scent to the side of the building and towards the back. "That woman, do you know her?"

I nodded, "She was John's date the other night." His eyes bulged and I knew instantly that he had the same information on her that I had. I put my temple and rubbed while I began to pace. "I can't believe her. She's a spy for Nyssa and she knows exactly what we are," I muttered and stopped when I saw the puzzled look on his face.

"What are you talking about?"

I narrowed my eyes in confusion. "Devyn. She's working for Nyssa who's an Original. Her assignment was to get close to us and she latched on to John as a way to gain entry into our group."

He nodded briefly. "That would explain a few things," he said mostly to himself and then straightened up. "But that's not why I rushed over here."

I waited for him to go on and when he didn't, I made a hand gesture. "And?"

He looked over my shoulder and when his eyes rested on me again, I had my arms crossed over my chest and I was seconds away from tapping my foot. "She's a shifter."

"A what?"

"A shapeshifter. Sorta like what I am, but they can be other animals. Uncle Darren has a few in his pack."

My bottom jaw had dropped slightly in shock. Out of everything in her brain, I should have been able to pull that out much easier than the information I had gotten. "How the hell did you find this out?"

He winced for a fleeting second, as if what he was going to say were going to make me more upset; and it did. "I went out for a run and ran into her. She had been hunting."

"Damn it Tyler, I specifically said no hunting alone."

"Technically-"

"I wouldn't finish that sentence if I were you," I warned him.

He looked a little wounded at being reprimanded. "I know, and I'm sorry," he said quietly and looked past me again. "I know I've seen death, both human and animal, but her hunting style..." his voice tapered off.

"What?" I asked when he didn't continue. "Tyler, what can she shift into?"

"Some shifters have only one animal they can turn into and others can change into multiple ones. I don't know if this is her only form, but she..." he sounded both traumatized and amazed at the same time. "She was a panther."

My jaw dropped wider this time and I blinked rapidly trying to wrap my head around that. "Seriously?"

He knew it was more rhetorical and he didn't answer. "I came here as fast as I could."

"Did she see you?"

"Yes," he replied and lifted up his shirt. There were healing claw marks on his stomach.

I gasped and automatically moved forward to make sure that he was alright. The marks were rather large and they looked deep. I gently ran my fingers over them and felt his muscles contract. "Sorry," I mumbled and took a step back. He put his shirt down easily and rolled his shoulders. "What happened?"

"I could sense that there was another predator in the area and I went to see if it was one of you, but I saw the panther and I sensed something was off. I went after it and it caught my stomach. The blow wasn't as bad as it looks, but it turned me back into a human almost instantly and then the panther changed into Devyn. She gave me the blood of her kill to heal me and then left in a hurry. She seemed really upset that she hurt me," he explained. "I rushed over here as soon as I could to tell you that there was a shifter in the area, and lo-and-behold, she was sitting with you."

I put my back against the building and sighed. "I have to tell John. This is something he should know. Especially if she's working for Nyssa." I tipped my head back and closed my eyes. "How did I not notice she was supernatural?"

"Hey, don't go blaming yourself for this," he said and wisely stayed put instead of coming to stand next to me.

"John asked me to stay out of her head, but I still should have been able to tell just by being near her." I pushed myself away from the wall and shook myself. "I'm going to say goodbye to Caroline and Matt. Can you go to the boarding house and tell Damon to arrange a meeting with everyone? I'll be there soon," I assured him.

"What about Devyn? If she is working for Nyssa, she would have had to know about you before Damon was taken."

"Not necessarily," I said and began walking back into the Grill. Devyn wasn't there and my friends were looking a little peeved that I had deserted them for Tyler. "I'm really sorry," I said to them as I slid into the booth opposite them. I was in hyper-alert mode and I could hear a dull chatter of brainwaves from all of the customers inside the building. It was annoying and I had to get out of here quickly. "Look, something came up and-"

"You're hanging out with Tyler now?" Caroline asked, cutting me off.

"He lives with us at the moment. I have to go. I'm sorry," I rushed on despite the interruption. I pulled enough money out to cover my order and a tip, put it on the table, and left them to gape after me. I hated leaving them like that; angry and disappointed that our time had been cut short. I walked outside and immediately sensed something was wrong, yet again. I felt Devyn's presence behind me and by the time I turned around, I already had a stake lodged in my back. I groaned mostly in shock rather than pain and pulled it out. Devyn's eyes went wide and she dropped her backup stake. "Yeah, weren't expecting that were you?" I asked in a cocky manner before I knocked her out and carried her back to the boarding house over my shoulder.


	6. Chapter 6

SIX

When I walked in, both Damon and Stefan were on their feet and at my side in the blink of an eye. "What the hell happened?" Damon asked.

"I'll explain when everyone's here," I said and looked around him for Tyler. "Did you tell him to call everyone?"

"Yeah," he said and put the phone to his ear, showing me I had arrived rather quickly.

"First things first, let's put her away," I muttered and carried her down to the basement and tossed her into the most secure cell. I slammed the door behind me and sagged against it.

Damon had been the only one to follow me and he was looking somewhat saddened by Devyn in the cell. "I kinda liked her."

"That's good, you both have something in common."

The humor in his eyes instantly went out. "How do you figure?"

"You both staked me," I said and couldn't help but smirk as I sauntered past him and up to the living room. Jeremy, Anna, Harper, and Pearl were already there. "John, Alaric, and Bonnie are on their way."

"Where is Bonnie?" I asked, looking at Stefan.

He shrugged, "I think she was at that New Age shop where she got the stones from."

I nodded and we waited for the others to arrive. Just like the other vampires who came at once, so did the humans. The irony was not lost on Damon either as we exchanged knowing smirks. "What happened with Devyn?" John asked the moment he opened the door and angrily strode into the room.

I explained how my afternoon had gone since Devyn had interrupted us and let Tyler tell his side as well. John was swearing up an internal storm and I could see his anger outlining him in a dull red. I immediately felt bad for him and I had to look away. "Show them," I said to Tyler and he lifted his shirt.

The wounds were healed even more since I had seen them but the effect was still the same. "Where is she?" John asked tightly.

I stood up and tilted my head. "Come on," I said lightly and he followed me to the basement. I stopped him at the top of the stairs and put my arms around him. "I'm so sorry. I really did like her," I added and he held me back.

When I let go, I led him to the cell where she was and opened the door. She was awake and she pounced at me in her panther form. I caught her by the throat and threw her against the wall causing her to yelp from the force of it. She growled at me but stayed on the other side of the cell, pacing back and forth. "Devyn?" John called from behind me in a small voice that was full of disbelief and hurt.

Her head snapped up to full alert and she changed back into her human form. "What the hell is going on? Why am I being held captive?" she was pleading with her eyes and her body was trembling with fear. However, it was fear of being found out.

"You attacked my daughter." His voice was cold and even I flinched at the tone.

Devyn looked from him to me and snarled; the fake fear disappearing instantly. "Fume all you want, but I caught you fair and square. You're lucky you're still breathing after what you did to Tyler."

"That was not on purpose. I didn't know he was a werewolf," she said defensively and I knew it was true.

It was then that I noticed the drop of blood that was slowly running down her bare thigh from where she had scraped the wall. My fangs slid down immediately and she took a step back without meaning to. "How long have you been working for Nyssa?"

"I'm not telling you anything."

"Whether or not you say it aloud, I will get the information from you."

"I can put up walls!" she snapped.

"Walls can easily be broken and if I bite you, all of your walls will be useless from our connections. As I'm sure you were told, I'm not a normal vampire. I wouldn't try to pull anything on me."

She snarled and lunged again in human form. It didn't take much to swat her away from me and John had retreated into the hallway. I lifted her by the throat and squeezed. She was swiping her nails at me and I squeezed harder as a result. When she couldn't afford to lose any more air, I let her fall to the ground, hearing bone crunch in the process. She coughed and spit blood on the floor, followed by cries of pain. "Are you going to torture me?" she asked in a taunting manner; almost as though she were daring me.

"If need be," I said and slammed the door shut and turned to John. "You can leave if you want to. You don't need to watch this."

He shook his head. "No, I'm staying. She betrayed me and you."

"You really liked her."

He shrugged and looked back at the cell door where Devyn was still moaning over her broken leg. "That doesn't matter anymore. You're more important," he said as though he always said something like this. "Can I have a minute with her?"

"Just don't open the cell," I warned and walked away.

"What happened?" Damon asked the minute I was in his sight.

"She came after me a few times. I broke her leg and threatened her. We're getting information from her and then we're going to kill her."

Everyone but Damon, Alaric, Stefan, and Tyler seemed a little shocked at the finality of my words. "Are you sure about that Elena?" Jeremy asked.

"I did much worse before and she's a spy for the enemy," I stated and he understood that he should drop the subject because my mind was made up already.

"Is John okay?" Alaric asked.

I nodded. "He's probably getting some closure."

There was nothing to say until John came back up and broke the silence. "What do we do next?" he asked.

I looked at Bonnie. "Want to draw a containment pentagram to keep in place while we question her?"

"Sure," she said and headed upstairs to get her things.

"Damon," I said and nodded to back patio door. He followed me and leaned against the house as he waited for me to say what I had to. "You're not going to like this, but I know she's going to be difficult and I don't want to waste any more time for John's sake. I know how he feels. I need..." I bit my lips as I tried to word the rest wisely.

He seemed to understand and he nodded reluctantly. "You need a power boost," he said simply even though he didn't like the idea. He kissed my forehead nodded again. "I'll go get the wolf."

"Thank you," I said lightly and waited for Tyler to outside to join me on the patio.

He looked a little frightened and it made me want to smile. "Damon said you wanted to see me?" he asked in a nervous voice.

"I need to get the information from her as quickly as I can and I need a favor from you in order to do it."

He actually grimaced and stepped back. "I don't think that's such a good idea. Don't get me wrong, I love the idea, but I don't think it's a good one."

"You know I would ask to do this unless it was important. John won't leave until this is over and it's going to kill him to watch it. The sooner I get this over with, the easier it will be. Please?" I asked, trying hard not to use my compulsion on him.

He sighed, "I thought you had the power of an angel as well as a vampire?"

"Yeah, I do, but we both know I'm a hell of a lot stronger when I have your blood."

He nodded because he couldn't argue with that. "Alright. I should let you know that silver kills them just as fast as it kills my kind. While you're questioning her, I can find some silver," he offered, knowing it was best to avoid me after we had shared blood.

"That would be great. Thank you," I said even though I had been content with draining her dry. I had considered that her blood would give me the extra energy boost like Tyler's did, but I wasn't willing to bet on it just yet. "I'll give you some of my blood so you can finish healing," I added and he nodded and extended his wrist to me. "Again, thank you," I breathed and brought his wrist to my mouth.

I was standing somewhat turned away from him and once his blood touched my tongue, his free arm looped around my waist and pulled me to him so my back was resting against his front. His body went through a spasm of pleasure and his arousal pressed into my lower back as he tightened his grip on me. I tipped my head to the right and his free hand slid up my side to brush the hair off my neck before he nuzzled it. His breath warmed my skin and made me shiver even before I felt his mouthful of razor sharp teeth graze my flesh. He bit down gently and my head swam at the feel of being fed upon while feeding at the same time. His hand snaked down my abdomen and pushed me back more before daring to dip even lower behind my waistband. I grabbed his hand and squeezed it so that he couldn't move it anymore and I removed my fangs from his wrist. I lapped up the excess blood and felt him do the same to my neck before letting me go completely.

I turned to thank him again and was startled when he leaned in and kissed me. I suspected it was due to the blood on my lips and when he pulled back with surprise on his face, it confirmed my suspicions. He cleared his throat and looked down at his feet while I looked anywhere that was above his waist. "I'll get the silver," he said in a strangled voice.

I nodded and left him on the porch and strode back into the living room where Bonnie was just finishing up with drawing the circle. There was a small section undrawn where I would take Devyn though to seal her in. "Where's Tyler?"

"He's going to get some silver," I explained and she nodded. "I'll go get her."

Damon came with me down to the basement. "What are you going to do?" he asked out of sheer curiosity.

I gave him a strange look and then shrugged. "I'm going to try to ask aloud and if that doesn't get fast results, then I'll just get answers while I feed from her."

"You can do that?" He was envious and it made me smirk as I nodded. "How did things go with Tyler?"

"Better than it usually goes," I admitted once I thought it over. I had stopped Tyler's wandering hands in time, but other than that, nothing really bad happened.

Damon grabbed my wrist to prevent me from moving and I just stared at him, waiting for him to speak. "I love seeing you this way. I was throughly disappointed when I was told that I missed your badass fighting against Klaus and all of those you went through to get to me. You remind me of myself before I met you."

"I don't know if that's a compliment or not," I said as I grinned up at him.

He leaned down and placed his lips on mine briefly, giving me an impish grin in return. "Oh, it's a compliment," he said and winked before opening the cell door for me.

Devyn was still on the ground there was a sliver of bone sticking out through her leg that was now covered in blood. "Maybe you want to talk now?" I asked from the threshold. She snarled and I shrugged in response. "Have it your way."

When I moved closer to her she became more frightened at the sight of me. She could sense the power shift in me and it left me feeling smug and confident. She didn't even fight me as Damon and I carried her upstairs and into the center of the pentagram Bonnie had drawn. "Stand with one foot inside and one outside," she instructed me and I obliged. She completed the circle and after my questioning glance, she explained. "You're the only one the circle will let both in and out."

I cleared my thoughts and stepped into the circle. Devyn cowered away from me and stopped when she hit the invisible barrier where the circle was drawn. Her green eyes were filled with hate and fear. "If you answer my questions, I will let you live."

"How gracious," she sneered.

I could see her hands turning into paws and her sharp claws were coming out. I kept my focus on her eyes and pushed my way into her mind. She had thrown up walls and it was taking every ounce of strength that she had to keep them there. She was far better with her walls than I originally gave her credit for but that was very unfortunate for her. "How long have you been working with Nyssa?" I asked aloud while still trying to break down her mental defenses.

"No," was all she was able to say to all the questions that I asked her. Speech required brain power and she didn't have any extra she could spare in order to keep me out.

In one last effort, despite her leg, she changed and lunged at me. She managed to get her claws lodged into my thigh and brought us both to the ground. My fangs were firmly in her throat and at the first taste of blood, her walls were gone. The more I fed from her, the easier it was to get the information from her brain. She had been struggling to get free and as the blood left her, she slackened and her movements were sluggish, even her heartbeat had decreased significantly. Her heart stopped completely the moment the last drop of her blood touched my tongue. When I pulled away, I was holding the limp body of a dead Devyn. I put her down on the floor, licked my lips, and stood up.

Bonnie opened the circle by reversing the spell. Harper and Jeremy volunteered to get rid of the body while I mentally sorted out the information I had gotten from Devyn. I ducked into the small bathroom to wash the blood from my torn jeans and newly healed skin as well as my face. I waited until I knew Harper and Jeremy were back before I went back to the living room to tell everyone what I had learned. I locked eyes with John and I could see the turmoil he was in. It hurt and angered me that Devyn had caused his emotions. "What did you learn?" he asked. He surprised me because his voice was so level and as I looked around the room, no one else seemed to notice how hurt he really was.

I looked away from him and nodded. "Nyssa and Balthazar are here in Virginia," I confirmed. "And Devyn was a spy for them once Nyssa knew who and where I was. Devyn was instructed to report thirty minutes ago because she was supposed to have captured me."

"What exactly does that mean?" Alaric asked.

"That if we don't go after them, they will come after us and they're going to do it soon," I stated.


	7. Chapter 7

**a/n: so I've written this chapter about a dozen times and I just couldn't get it right, so if seems a little lame...that's because it is. Haha. I will make up for it soon with some really good Delena action :)**

SEVEN

After we had the base of a plan made Bonnie volunteered to sit this one out. "If they know exactly where you are, I think I can try to set up wards on the boarding house, Jenna's, and Pearl's," she explained. "I'll go to Jenna's first and bring her with me. Besides, I'm the only one that can get seriously hurt."

I glanced at Jeremy and narrowed my eyes at him. He was eager to fight but he was naive. The only fights he had been in were the ones with Tyler over Vickie and those would look like child's play after this was over. "Jeremy, I know you want to help, but you need to do exactly what you're told. This isn't a fist fight in the cafeteria."

"I know that. I'm not sure what to expect, but I know it's going to be horrible," he said and my eyes widened in surprise. Apparently Anna had been sharing fights she had been in. I nodded at her as a thank you and she inclined her head. "Just out of curiosity, are you sure that you can sneak up on them?" Jeremy asked.

Everyone was looking at me with mild awe and I looked down at my hands. I swore under my breath because I was glowing. It was a dull glow, but it was still there. "It's just a side effect from having the blood of two supernatural beings so close together," I explained and hoped I was right. I could feel the difference though, my body was practically thrumming with untold power. This was definitely the best time to go after Nyssa and Balthazar.

"How do you know where to go?" Alaric asked.

"She had an image in her mind of a very large, over the top mansion outside of Richmond. I can't imagine there are too many of those. It was definitely decorated by someone who knows a lot about the Greeks." There was a moment of silence before I continued. "Well, I guess we should go."

Our order of white ash had come in last week and we had been making stakes since it arrived. There was now a rather large pile of them in one of the rooms in the basement. We all headed down and gathered as many as we could carry and then said goodbye to Bonnie. Since I was bursting with power, John and Alaric put their arms around me and I carried them as I took off through the night with the other vampires. Damon carried Tyler and I laughed before we left because Tyler was worried that Damon would try to exact revenge on him in some minor way. I led the way since I knew where I was going and in about a half hour, we were on the edge of forest in front of the gigantic mansion. It was dark outside and we were far enough away from the city that the only light came from the many lights that lined the outside of the property, casting a soft ambient glow on everything.

"How many?" Damon asked me.

I closed my eyes and cast out my mind to catch any brainwaves as far as I could manage and then answered him. "A lot," was all I could say. There were too many brains for me to count. "And if I'm not mistaken, all but two of them were human."

Everyone looked uneasy. "Human bodyguards?"

"Vervain," Stefan muttered and I nodded.

"The Originals aren't effected by it, but we are. If they use the humans as a food source, they can pump them full of vervain and it would only hurt us. I don't know if that's what they do or not, but don't feed on anyone," I speculated and everyone nodded in agreement.

We spread out around the house and entered from different points. Everyone was told to cast their thoughts out to me if they needed help or if they found something and I would take care of the rest. As I made my way to the window of the mansion, I was on alert for anyone coming to get me, and just as I reached the wall, two humans came out and ran at me. I cut both of them down in the blink of an eye and I could feel their confusion before they died. I broke the window into one room and pulled myself inside. I hurried from the room and reached out with my senses until I located two brainwaves that were filled with nothing but violence and bloodlust. I followed them through the house and just as I got close, an alarm sounded through the house and made me lose track of the Originals in the house. I heard a thud behind me and whirled around to see Damon standing over a dead guard.

"Thanks," I mumbled and we listened around for signs of people approaching. We were both in a semi-crouch that signaled we were ready for an attack. We didn't have to wait long before we were surrounded in the hallway by many humans.

_What should we do? You can take them right?_ Damon asked.

_I can, but they will take us to Nyssa and Balthazar. It would be easier to surrender. They don't know how powerful I am_, I reminded him and saw him nod. We dropped our weapons and were shoved down the hall until we came to a grand receiving wing on the ground floor. The room we were shoved into was large enough to be the side of the boarding house and it was heavily decorated by an expert on Greek mythology. It was breathtakingly beautiful and it was all I could do not to get distracted and stay focused on my targets who were lounging in ornate throne chairs similar to the one Klaus had in Romania.

It had taken us only ten minutes to get in and get captured and yet it felt a lot longer. Anna was being held back by guards who had spears made of wood pointed at her and Jeremy was on his knees in front of Nyssa. She turned cold brown eyes on me as she looked me up and down. She signaled for us to be brought closer and we were shoved forward again and then pushed down to the floor. I flipped the inner switch so that my focus wouldn't be on Jeremy. It was the only way that I was going to be able to get through this. "You're the one that killed Klaus," came Nyssa's voice. It was hard and bitter and very accented.

"And I would do it again if I could."

Balthazar's black eyes lit up in amusement but his body remained stiff. "You're a new vampire," he said after a moment. His voice was almost identical to Nyssa's.

"Not that new."

I was already concentrating on the dropped weapons out in the hall. The doors had been left open, making it easier for me to get them here. "Klaus was the first of us," Nyssa said proudly. "He was murdered as though he were weak."

"He did go down pretty easily," I said and she flew out of her chair and launched herself at me.

I crashed to the floor and she had lodged her fangs in my neck. She immediately started choking and spit, giving me enough of a distraction to kick her off of me. Damon was already attacking the guards as was Anna. Unfortunately, Jeremy was being held by Balthazar. He was screaming mentally for me to help him, but I couldn't. Nyssa hissed at me and dug her nails into whatever bit of flesh that she could. I sent an SOS to my group and then tried again with the stakes even though I was fighting Nyssa off of me. She was strong and she wasn't clouded by revenge as Klaus had been over Katherine. I panicked for a moment as I thought that she was going to kill me as Anya said I was going to die. All of that fear evaporated when she collapsed on top of me and turned into the same black smoke that Klaus had.

I scrambled away from her and looked up to see John. "Did you kill her?" I asked.

"No," he said honestly, looking very, very astonished. "I was going to and then the stake flew out of my hand and into her back followed by three more. You must have done it."

"Huh," I mused. My powers must be stronger than I thought if I used them without even thinking about it. My head snapped to the side in time to see Balthazar slam Tyler's wolf form into a wall. I heard a yelp and then there was only a twitching movement from the animal on the ground.

I was about to go to his side when John crashed into me. I caught him and gently put him on the ground so I could pull out the knife that had been lodged into the back of his shoulder blade. "Go, I'll heal," he said and I raced to Tyler.

He was breathing and his eyes were open. _He has Jeremy_, he informed me and I felt cold all over.

He was already healing from my blood and I left him there as I searched for Jeremy and the other Original. It didn't take me long to find them on the opposite side of the wing. There were only a few human guards with him and they had the wooden spears as their weapons. "Balthazar! I shouted and they stopped to look at me.

He held Jeremy in front of him like a shield. "Are you willing to risk the life of your friend in order to kill me?" I could only stare at him while I concentrated on bringing out more stakes. "The others will be more alert; you won't get away with any more surprises. Especially with Velken."

Jeremy's face contorted in pain as Balthazar did something I couldn't see. I remembered Anya telling me each had a special talent, but I had yet to discover what any of them were. I saw something move behind them and realized it was Damon with a stake in each hand. I hoped that Balthazar didn't know he was there and I kept my attention on him. "I don't care how ruthless any of you are, you still need to be sent back to wherever it is that you came from."

"I would really like to see you try," he said and sank his fangs into Jeremy's flesh.

Jeremy screamed and the guards launched their spears at me. I moved too fast for their eyes and took them out at once. While I did this, Damon had staked Balthazar. He stepped back as Jeremy collapsed to the floor, clutching his neck to keep it from bleeding anymore until it healed. "Three down, seven to go," I said before the Original turned to black smoke made of human fear and turmoil. I looked behind me at the sound of a loud clank and discovered four guards who had dropped their weapons in horror. "I would run if I were you," I warned them. I didn't have to tell them twice.

I offered Jeremy some of my blood and he healed almost instantly. "I really didn't think I could kill them," Damon said as we went back to the main wing where the others were waiting for us.

"Anya said I was the only one to defeat them, but...I don't know. Maybe it's because you've had so much of my blood and recently?"

He shrugged, "Don't worry about it. They're dead and we're safe for now."

I stopped and he turned to look at me. "Look, we know now that their blood is lethal to vampires and werewolves, but Nyssa had some of my blood and it weakened her enough for me to get the upper hand in the situation. My blood might be lethal to them in return."

"I believe that might have to do with the essence of angel inside of you," he added and I nodded.

"Either way, it's good to know."

Suddenly, my energy and strength seemed to collapse all at once and I swayed on my feet until Damon caught me. "Elena?"

I shook my head to clear it and then gained my footing enough so that I could step away. "I'm fine. Head rush," I explained lamely and we entered the room where everyone was waiting.


	8. Chapter 8

**a/n: great Delena next chapter for sure :) I had to get this out of the way so that I could give them an entire chapter :) and I'm already half way done with it!**

EIGHT

It took a week for things to settle down and get back to normal. The wards Bonnie had done on both houses were holding up really well. Almost too well, because it was hard for the vampires that didn't live at the boarding house to get inside. It took two days for them to get through with ease and now everything was fine. Bonnie had moved her things from Stefan's room to the one that Zach used to use as his room. It was her way to letting everyone know that the two of them were over without actually saying it. Damon had shown me the servant's wing and we started clearing it out for the pack members when they came down. I wondered it the girl Tyler had met was going to come too but I couldn't bring myself to ask him about it.

I had put all my energy and free time into cleaning out the piles of junk that cluttered the rooms. There was plenty of history down here and I felt like a broken record when I asked Damon and Stefan about everything. I didn't want to throw something away that was important or that meant something to them. Damon eventually told me that he didn't want anything because it was all worthless to him. I knew that it was due to him having had his "off switch" on until he met me. From that point, Stefan had helped me sort things.

"What about this?" I asked and showed him what I had in my hands. It was a Civil War rifle.

His lips curved into the ghost of a smile. "That was Damon's. So was the uniform," he said and nodded in the direction of the trunk full of old clothes. I was kind of afraid to open it on the off chance there was something of Katherine's in there.

"I'll see if he wants it," I said and he gave me a sharp look. "Okay, I'll give it to Mrs. Lockwood," I added after a bit more thought. "She's always looking for old things to show off at the Founder Day parties."

"There's plenty of stuff for her," he agreed.

"How did your family collect so much crap over the years?" I asked as I looked at the many trash bags that lined the wall. "I know they had trash cans back then."

He smiled and shrugged. "Everyone that stayed here knew what we were and Damon kept coming back strictly to remind all of them that it was his house and he was letting them stay there."

My face fell as I realized what he was saying. I swallowed around a tight throat as I remembered how I figured out that Stefan was a vampire. "He was the one that killed your uncle back in the fifties right? Well, I guess he was technically your nephew."

He nodded and kept his eyes averted from mine. "He made sure that they knew he was in charge. He didn't want them to have normal lives because he needed the house to come back to."

I stopped what I was doing and stared at him. "Why are you telling me this?"

He met my eyes then and he looked like a child with his hand in the cookie jar. "I don't know."

"Bullshit," I said and got to my feet. "I know he was horrible and did things that I don't like before he met me, but that's in the past."

"Is it?"

"Stefan, he's changed, but he's still a vampire and I understand what it's like to want to rip someone's throat out just because you can. When I was searching for him for those six months, that was exactly what I did."

"You had a purpose."

"For the most part, no. I just attacked and even though I can recall all of my victims clearly, I don't regret it at all. I know what I did and I'm okay with it. You regret it every single time you hunt and that's just who you are. That's why you and I didn't work; Damon and I are more alike then we ever were."

His eyes were full of hurt and I felt a little pang of guilt. "We were good together Elena. You have changed, yes, but it was because of extreme circumstances."

"Stefan," I said in a strangled voice. I was beginning to get frustrated and he knew it. "Bonnie told me that you're still in love with me and I can't do anything about that, I know. It took you a hundred and fifty years to get over Katherine and I'm so sorry that I broke your heart all over again before it was finished healing. It kills me that I started my relationship with Damon while I was still with you, but that's what happened. I would have done that differently, but I wouldn't change the result."

He rubbed his hand against the back of his neck as he looked at me. "I just thought you would be different."

I had to bite my tongue from lashing out at him. I knew he was right; I wish I had been different from Katherine too. "I can say I'm sorry a thousand times and it won't do anything. You need closure and I don't know what to say to give it to you."

"Tell me, with all your heart, do you honestly believe that you would still love him as much as you do if Katherine and Isobel hadn't compelled me to do their bidding?"

I held his gaze and felt my guilt escalate from the hopeful look in his eyes. "To be completely honest with you, yes. I had been having feelings for him since our trip to Georgia after I found Katherine's picture." I let it sink in and his shoulders slumped forward in defeat. That was not what he was expecting to hear. "I never wanted to be like her, but what's done is done. You can feel however you want about me; just promise me you'll never do anything about them."

"I promise," he said tightly.

"Thank you," I said and went upstairs to get Bonnie from her room. "Want to run a few errands with me? Now?" I asked impatiently.

"Uh, sure," she said and grabbed her purse before following me out to her car. My mind was too scattered to try and use my speed at the moment. "Where to first?" she asked once we had lost sight of the boarding house.

"Um, Mrs. Lockwood's."

"Really, why?"

"There's a lot of Civil War stuff she might be interested in. If not, I'll donate them to the Mystic Falls museum or sell them on ebay."

"You don't think she'll connect the dots?"

"For her sake, I hope not. I would really hate to kill her," I said dryly and turned the radio up.

"What happened?" she asked and I could tell she knew I had been downstairs with Stefan before I came to get her.

"We fought a little. It was good though. Once it blows over, I think he'll be okay. I hadn't realized before that I never really broke up with him. He kept waiting for Damon to fail me in some way, but it's not going to happen. Even if Damon goes back to his old self, I'm almost a hundred percent sure I would follow him."

"I can't see that happening."

"Me neither," I said and smiled half-heartedly at her. She didn't know the full extent of my behavior while I was off hunting for Damon and I was determined to keep her in the dark about it. It would change her opinion of me for sure and I didn't want that to happen. "I hope she's home," I said as we pulled up to the Lockwood mansion. "I don't want to have to come back."

We walked up to the front door and I rang the bell. Mr. Lockwood answered it and invited us in. "I'll go get her," he said and walked away, leaving us to sit in the formal living room where they entertained their guests.

"Elena? Bonnie? What a surprise," Mrs. Lockwood said as she entered the room a few minutes later. "What can I do for you?"

"I'm sure you know I'm staying at the boarding house," I said and she nodded. "I'm going through the servant's quarters and I found a lot of stuff from the Civil War and some things that belonged the original Salvatore's."

Her eyes lit up like it was Christmas morning. "What kind of things?"

I went over a mental picture and ticked things off as I spoke. "A trunk full of clothes including a uniform, rifles, and a bunch of things like it."

"Stefan and Damon don't want them?"

I shook my head. "They know what's down there and they told me I could do what I wanted with it. I thought I would ask you first. Anything you don't want I'll donate to the museum and Goodwill."

She put a hand over her heart and gave a genuine smile. "That would be fantastic!"

"I'm not done sorting through it all, but when I am, I'll have Tyler help me bring things over."

"How is he doing?" she asked and I could feel a little hurt in her voice that Tyler was gone and didn't come by to visit anymore. "I miss him."

"He's doing really well," I said and left it at that. The phone worked both ways and she was just as guilty about not calling Tyler as he was at not calling her. "We have some more things to do, but I'll call you when I'm done," I informed her and she said goodbye as we headed back to Bonnie's car.

"Now where?"

I thought for a moment and then smiled at her. "I have an idea, but you may not like it."

She smiled lightly. "I'm sure I won't, but what is it?" After I told her where I wanted to go, her eyes bulged and she dissolved into laughter. "This I have to see," she said through her laughter. "There's a really good one in Richmond that we could go to. Caroline used to get her Halloween costumes there."

I laughed at that and nodded. "I always wondered." And with that, we were headed off to Richmond once again.


	9. Chapter 9

**a/n: I'm sure most of you knew where I was going with it, but here's the Delena that I promised :) As a side note, I am going to Florida in a few days and I'm fairly certain the people I'm staying with don't have wireless internet...I will be writing, but I won't be posting until I get back :( so enjoy this chapter! (and be thankful because the first draft was a cliff hanger!)**

NINE

"You sure about this?" Bonnie asked as she drove up to a hotel. We had finished our shopping and I was in a much better mood than I had been when we left.

I nodded and my genius idea and shrugged. "I've got an eternity ahead of me. I might as well try something out of my comfort zone. Besides, I'm kind of excited," I gushed and grabbed the bags from the back of the car. "I'll see you tomorrow. Maybe," I added and waved her off.

I rented the room and then headed to the elevator. I dumped the contents of the bags on the ridiculously big bed and stood there deciding which one to go for first. I felt a little embarrassed just thinking about what I was going to do and I felt a little silly too. Bonnie and I had gone into an adult costume shop and I had gotten a few different outfits. One of them I was unsure of since it was a corset with a matching garter set. I was almost positive it was a little too close to Katherine, but it was still amazing. I had never, ever thought of role playing before and I was both nervous and excited to try it out. It wasn't like Damon hadn't seen me naked before.

I decided on the nurse outfit and shoved the rest back in the bag and set it aside. I picked up the phone and called the boarding house. Tyler answered and sounded a little irritated. I laughed when I heard a basketball game in the background. "Can I talk to Damon?"

"Where the hell are you?" he asked, suddenly less irritated.

"Don't worry, I'm fine," I assured him. "Just put Damon on the phone please."

I heard him get off the couch and move up the stairs. "Stefan said you and Bonnie just took off. Is she with you?"

"No, she's on her way back."

"But-"

"Just get Damon," I urged and I could feel heat rise to my cheeks. This was not something I wanted to say aloud. "I promise you that we're both okay."

I heard him knock and bit my lip in anticipation. "Here."

"Thank you," I said and then heard the door slam shut. "Hi."

"Where are you?"

"In a hotel in Richmond."

He paused. "What are you doing there?" He was very curious instead of worried. Good.

"Come and see for yourself," I suggested and gave him the name of the hotel and the room number. "But I highly recommend that you drive."

"Why?" His voice came out somewhat strangled as though I were torturing him.

I laughed and shook my head against the phone. "Because it will be so much more fun if you do," I answered and returned the phone to its cradle.

I stared at the outfit for a few seconds before taking off the clothes I was wearing and putting them in a neat pile by the bag of clothes. I looked at the outfit again and chided myself for picking a cliche outfit, but it would serve its purpose. Out of all of them, I figured he would like this one the most because it sported his favorite color. I pulled on the black fishnet stockings over a little black thong and then stepped into a black micro-mini skirt. The top was an elaborate bra for lack of a better term. It snapped in the front and showed an ample amount of cleavage, complete with a little police badge on the left side. It had wide straps that could pass as sleeves but the "shirt" itself stopped right below my chest, leaving my stomach bare. There was a belt that rode low on my hips to hold a pair of handcuffs on each side. I put on the boots that went to the middle of my calf. They were the highest heels I had ever worn and strangely enough were pretty comfortable. It came with a sheriff's hat that I put on after I gathered my hair in a loose ponytail and tied it back. I looked in the mirror and grinned; this was going to be very interesting to say the least.

I paced around the room because I wasn't so sure I could sit in the outfit and breathe. I sighed as I thought that I should have just let Damon speed over here. He would here by now if he had. While I waited, impatiently, I thought of several dialogues that I could try to use and each time my cheeks flushed with heat. I would do whatever he wanted, but I still had issues with voicing them. I laughed at myself and then there was a knock at the door. "Elena?" The sound of his voice sent a rush south and I shuddered from the intensity of it.

I opened the door while staying behind it and he came in. When I shut the door, he finally saw me. His jaw dropped and renewed my confidence level immensely. He looked at me from head to toe in disbelief and approval. I had planned on telling him not to laugh but he wasn't going to. I held out my hands and smirked at him. "I thought I told you to drive here."

"I drove like hell," he replied after he locked his gaze with mine. "So this is what you were doing all day?"

"Not all day," I said and spun around for him. When I turned around to face him, he was licking his lips and his eyes had dilated a little.

"A very, _very_ nice surprise."

"Plenty more where it came from," I assured him and his eyes widened a little. I pointed to the bag. "A few more outfits. Among other things," I added with a sly smile.

"Other things?"

I winked as I approached him like the huntress that I was. "You'll see," I returned before I pushed him onto the edge of the bed. I bent forward to kiss him and stopped only a few centimeters from his lips before I smiled and pulled back. I moved quickly to kneel behind him and snaked my arms around him to glide up and down his chest. I began unbuttoning his shirt while kissing the side of his neck and nipping at his ear. His hands tightened on the edge of the bed as I pulled the shirt from him and tossed it to the floor. I put my hands on his shoulders, sat back, and just began to massage. It was a rather short one, but it did what I intended it to do and distracted him while I cuffed one of his wrists. When he realized what I was doing, he stiffened in surprise and before he could protest, he was cuffed to the bed.

The one thing Damon didn't like was to be helpless and out of control. Right now, he was at my mercy and I was going to enjoy the hell out of it. I straddled his hips and grinned down at him mischievously. He tugged against the restraints and smiled back. "You know I can just snap these in half right?" he asked in a half growl.

I ran one palm up his sleek muscles just to feel them quiver from my touch and shrugged. "So do it."

He tugged again, this time using all his strength and his eyes flashed with fear for a brief second when nothing happened. He tried a few more times and narrowed his eyes at me. "What the hell?"

"Bonnie spelled them so you couldn't get out," I said proudly and laughed at my genius idea. "Now you're going to have to play by the rules."

He swore in a language I had never heard him use before as he tried again to get lose and his shoulders sagged when the result hadn't changed. "I don't like your rules," he said flatly and yet his body was disagreeing with him.

I leaned forward and let my body drape across his. I kissed his lips and then his jaw before looking up at his eyes that had dilated just a little. "I'm not going to hurt you. Much," I added and grinned before nipping the side of his neck with my fangs, earning a faint groan from his lips.

Now that we were both slightly out of our comfort zone, I proceeded. I moved down to remove the rest of his clothes and then explored his body. There was not a bit of skin that had been left untouched by either lips or hands and he was almost ready to beg for mercy. I sat with my back toward him before I leaned down on my elbows to take him into my mouth. His mind was screaming what I assumed were obscenities at the fact that I was in an easy to reach position and yet his hand were tied. I grinned as I swirled my tongue around his tip. He had already been on the verge of letting go and the moment I touched him, he became even more moist. His thoughts went from angry to highly pleasurable in the course of half a second. The bed rocked a little as his body spasmed in response to my actions and his head ground against the pillows I had propped up under his head so he wouldn't be too uncomfortable. "Elena," he moaned in a strangled voice and I pulled my mouth away a split second before he came. There had been a towel from the bathroom on the comforter for this purpose. I wiped him clean and shucked it into the bathroom before sitting up to undo his cuffs, but only the ones that were holding him to the bed.

The second he was free, he had me pinned beneath him. His lips captured mine for an aggressive kiss. He let his lips trail from mine until they reached the hollow of my throat. From there, he grazed his fangs along my skin until his face was directly between my breasts. He reached up to undo the snap; the metal of hand cuffs caused my belly to quiver from the light, cold touch. He took the shirt from beneath me and tossed it away. In turn, he divided his attention equally between my breasts and the hardened peaks that topped them. The anticipation was killing me and my breath caught in my throat when he started kissing his way down my stomach. He sat back to remove my boots and then the fishnets by simply tearing them off. He took off the thong carefully, letting his nail graze my skin all the way down to my ankles and sending a shiver down my spine.

He lay down on his stomach and hooked my legs over his shoulders before pulling me to him. The quickness made me gasp and I groaned as he kissed the inside of my thigh. My body was alive and tingling with pleasure as I waited for him to touch me where I was craving him the most. He gave me one quick lick and it was enough to make me reach my limits. He inserted a finger, thrust, and then added another. After every few thrusts, he would press his lips around my clit and do a little sucking motion. He added another finger and used his tongue along with them to send me hurtling towards the stars as I came for him. My fists clenched the sheets and tugged as my head ground against the bed.

I barely had time to register that Damon had lifted me off the bed and positioned me in front of him with my back to him. He eased me forward and nudged my knees farther apart before sliding into me from behind. I moaned softly as he slid all the way in, waited, pulled all the way out, and repeated a few times in an agonizingly slow pace. Just when I thought he couldn't take it anymore, he began to increase his pace and in almost no time at all I was feeling the beginnings of my second release. I gripped the bedding in front of me and threw my head back to call his name at the same time I felt his release warm up my insides. He gave a few extra thrusts and then collapsed on the bed, pulling me over him.

He was on his back while I was looking down at him; half on the bed, half on him. He reached up to play with my hair and I ran my thumb absently against his skin. "That was incredible."

I laughed and moved my hand over to his where the cuffs were still dangling. "Thank you for being a good sport," I said and flicked the metal.

"Speaking of, where are the keys for these?"

My brow furrowed. "Keys?"

I made a noise somewhere between a yelp and giggle as he rolled me beneath him and pretended to attack me. I reached for the nightstand and pulled out the key from the drawer. "That's more like it," he breathed and kissed me before letting me sit up to undo the cuffs. Since they were damaged anyway from where I had broken them off of the bed, I threw them into the trash and smiled back at Damon.

"Now what?" I asked before I laid back down.

He looked at me and then at the bag sitting by the nightstand. "Didn't you say you had other things in there? I think it might be a good time to show me what you got."

I grinned and bit my lip playfully before reaching up to kiss him lightly. "If you insist," I said and slid off the bed to pick up the bag. I walked to the bathroom and changed into the next outfit. I modeled the ones I had except for the corset and got his approval on each and every one before I climbed back into bed and made good use of being uninterrupted.

As night began to change into day, we both decided we had had enough. He was spooning behind me with his arm securely around my stomach. "What in the world made you decide on doing this?" he asked softly.

"When I was cleaning out the basement I found a trunk with old clothes," I said and shrugged. "I don't know, it just kind of sparked an idea and I went with it."

He placed a gentle kiss on my shoulder. "It was a great idea."

"I should probably call the house and let them know we probably won't be back until late," I said and tried to reach for the phone.

He pulled me back and locked his arms around me. "I'm sure Bonnie will tell them we're fine. She does know what you had planned right?"

I nodded. "Then can I text her and tell her I'm still here?"

Reluctantly he let me go to type up a quick message and then settled back into his arms. This time I was facing him and I put my head on his chest. For the first time in a long time, my body felt kind of achy and I felt the need to sleep it off. He lifted my face up to his and kissed me deeply. "Thank you."

"Welcome," I replied and snuggled closer. It only took a few moments before we were both in a deep sleep.

Something shifted in the air and my eyes snapped open. I looked around to the places that I could from where I was laying and saw nothing out of the ordinary. Sometime during my rest, I had rolled onto my stomach and faced the other way. I moved my arm to Damon's side of the bed and saw nothing. As I began to panic, I heard something in the bathroom and sighed with relief. I slid out of the bed and stopped dead in my tracks when I turned around to face the bathroom.

There was a trail of blood from Damon's side of the bed all the way to the bathroom. There were splatters on the wall and handprints on the door. My heart sank into my stomach as fear settled in. I took a couple drunken steps forward and stopped when the air shifted behind me. I whirled around to see a man of Asian descent about the same height as Stefan standing behind me. I knew exactly who he was and why he was here. "Hisoka," I breathed and he lunged at me.

He tackled me to the ground and pinned my arms above my head. As he stared down at my face with his eyes blazing and fangs out I was very aware that I wasn't wearing anything. He seemed to be gloating at my helplessness which told me he didn't know how powerful I really was. I brought my knee up and he hissed in pain, giving me enough of a distraction to throw him off of me. As I scrambled to my feet to get to the bathroom, he grabbed my leg and sent me flying into the wall. I hit hard enough that it cracked and plaster fell around me when I crumpled to the floor.

"You may be strong, but you don't have any wood on you," Hisoka said in a heavily accented voice as he knelt beside me. He lifted me by the hair and locked one arm around me so that my arms were useless. He put his nose in the crook of my neck and inhaled deeply. "You smell like angel."

I remembered what happened to Nyssa when she drank from me and I struggled harder in hopes that he would just do it. His fangs slid into my skin and he took a rather large gulp of my blood. I felt a head rush and then he started to convulse against me. "I don't need wood to kill you," I said proudly as I got out of his grasp and to my feet faster than he could follow.

He hissed and went for me again. I had his face between my hands and I began to crush as hard as I could. He thrashed, trying every maneuver he could to get out of my grasp. I smiled cruelly as I saw the real fear and pain in his eyes when I realized I was winning. I moved to stand behind him and gripped his head in a way that let him know I was going to break his neck. He screamed the second before I twisted and I heard the loud crack and then stepped back in shock when I realized I was stronger than I thought. His body fell to a bloody heap on the floor while his head remained in my hands. I dropped it and backed up until I was resting against the bathroom door. My body was painted with blood and I slid down the door with ease as I watched the body and head evaporate into that swirling black mist, leaving no trace of there ever being an Original in the hotel room. Even the blood disappeared from the carpet and my skin.

I stood up after the shock had worn off and went into the bathroom to see Damon laying on the tile floor with blood all around him. "Damon?" I called and shook him. I checked his body for any cuts and found there was none. Then I noticed his skin was an ash-grey color. I sampled his blood and immediately spit it out, choking as I did so. "It's only vervain," I said with relief and pulled him into my lap. "You're going to be okay," I assured him and brought him out to lay on the bed while I called the others to come help us with clean up.


	10. Chapter 10

**a/n: so instead of packing, I wrote due to a momentary lift on my writers block...but now this will probably be the last one until I get back so enjoy!**

TEN

Once we were back at the boarding house, I explained how everything had happened. Alaric, John, Stefan, Tyler, and Bonnie had come to help clean the room. They were still shocked at the fact that I had killed Hisoka with my hands since there wasn't any wood and I felt the same way. I still couldn't believe it myself. Damon didn't remember anything from when he had fallen asleep to waking up with both of us and the room covered in blood. It had taken him a couple of days to get the vervain completely out of his system. Tyler had told me that his uncle's pack would be here within the next couple of days now that their business was taken care of so while Damon was recuperating, the rest of us got the rooms ready for their stay.

"Thank you again for letting them stay here. Although I'm not really sure why you need them after all. You seem to be able to defeat the Originals on your own," Tyler said once we finished the last room.

"It would just be nice to have some extra backup. Just in case."

"What about more witches?" Bonnie asked.

I thought it over and then shrugged. "The only ones I can think of are the ones in Georgia and I think we got all the favors we could out of them last time," I answered. "Unless you know a way to meet others."

"I can ask the lady that owns the New Age store."

Tyler excused himself to answer his phone, leaving Bonnie and I alone in the last room. "That would be a good idea."

"She offered me a job."

I looked at her, expecting her to continue. "And?"

"I'm still deciding."

"Bonnie!" I hissed and laughed. "You're crazy! You have to take that job. It's perfect for you. You would get to learn more about your craft and meet other witches."

"I know that," she said softly. I knew she was still making up her mind about turning but I didn't want to bring it up. Fortunately, she changed the subject on her own. "So, how was the night before Hisoka showed up?" she asked and grinned knowingly.

"Fantastic."

She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "I want details Elena."

I went into the events, being as vague as I could and then stopped when I saw Stefan standing in the doorway. Both of our laughter died immediately and we stood up. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"Damon's asking for you," he said and then walked away.

"What was that about?" Bonnie asked about his attitude.

"A little argument we had the other day," I said and smiled reassuringly at her. "Thank you for that spell on the handcuffs."

She winked. "Glad they worked."

I grabbed a few blood bags on my way up to our room and grinned even wider when I saw him sitting up. His color had returned to normal, if not a little more pale from lack of blood. "How are you feeling?" I asked as I sat by his side and offered him the bags.

He drank all of them in record time and he looked one hundred percent Damon again. "Much better. Now, what the hell happened?" he asked. Since he had been in and out of it while he fought the vervain, he had stayed in bed and I hadn't had the chance to explain things to him yet.

I explained to him in detail the events of that night and he didn't remember anything. "I don't know why he decided to drug you, but I'm very happy that he did."

His mouth was slightly open in awe and his eyes were filled with admiration. "You ripped his head off?"

I smiled and nodded. "I didn't know I could do that either."

My cell rang and I fetched it from my pocket to answer it. It was Caroline. "Okay, you ran out on us last time so you owe me."

"When are you and Matt going back to school?"

"Tomorrow. Matt suggested a double date."

"He did?" I asked in surprise and watched Damon's brow lift up.

Caroline sighed to show her disagreement with Matt's choice, but she was going with it anyway to see me. It made me feel a little guilty. "I was thinking maybe dinner and a movie? Say around six?"

I looked and Damon and he nodded. "That should be fine. I'll meet you at the theatre?"

"Sure, see you later," she said and hung up.

I returned my phone to my pocket and looked at Damon with amusement on my face. "Well, I guess we're going on a double date with Matt and Caroline."

"This should be fun," he said and winked at me before pulling me over him. I smiled and rubbed my cheek against his chest as we just lay there for awhile in silence.

* * *

When we did finally get up, it was to get ready for out night out with Caroline and Matt. Damon dressed in his usual; black pants and a tucked in black button up shirt. I decided on jeans and a green shirt with some sort of swirl design on it. "Where are you going?" Bonnie asked when we got downstairs.

"Caroline and Matt want us to double date tonight before they go back to school."

"Ah," she said and I got the feeling she was a little unhappy about not being invited along. She shrugged, "I saw them the other day," she added once she realized I had caught a glimpse at her thoughts.

"Maybe this time you should carry some wood with you," Tyler called over his shoulder, his eyes glued to the game on TV.

"That's not a bad idea," I said and went to the basement to get a few stakes that the both of us could carry.

"Where are we meeting them?" Damon asked once we were in the car.

"Theatre," I replied and fumbled with the radio. I was on high alert on the off chance something else would happen on our attempt at normalcy.

"Elena?" Damon asked, giving me that look that told me he had been asking me something a few times.

"Sorry, I'm on the lookout."

"We'll be fine," he said and put his hand on my knee, squeezing it for reassurance.

"Apparently the universe likes to send its most diabolical life forms out to ruin my good times. I just want to make sure this is a normal night."

"The more you get distracted because you're looking out for something, the less normal this night is going to get. Just relax and enjoy yourself," he suggested.

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Okay, I think I can pretend everything's alright for a few hours. This might be the last time I see them as it is."

He nodded and I was grateful that he didn't say anything in order to sugarcoat the situation. "We'll be fine," he said again and the rest of our ride was silent.

We parked and walked to the front of the theatre where Matt and Caroline were waiting for us. Caroline hugged me as did Matt while Damon shook his hand and waved awkwardly at Caroline. "Glad you could make it," Matt said.

"Thanks for inviting us," Damon said graciously and looked up at our options. "What are we in the mood for?" he asked and then looked at each of us.

"Something lighthearted," I replied and it earned a nod of agreement from the others. We chose the comedy that was playing and got our tickets.

"Want anything?" Damon asked after linking his fingers with mine.

I shook my head. "I'm good."

Nobody else wanted anything either so we walked into our theatre and took our seats. "How are the wedding plans coming?" Caroline asked me as we waited for the movie to start.

"They're pretty much done. It's just waiting on the bigger finishes like the final fittings for the dress and that kind of stuff," I replied and had completely forgotten that they would be at Jenna's wedding in June. I guess this wasn't the last time I would be seeing them. I talked a little bit more about the wedding and they said a few things about school. When the movie started, Damon lifted the arm rest and I curled up against him for the duration of the film. Watching the comedy did make me calm down and when it was over I felt much better.

"I don't know about you, but I'm starving," Matt said as we walked outside. "The Grill okay with everyone?"

I laughed and nodded. "Sounds perfect," I replied and Damon nodded in agreement.

When we walked inside the restaurant, there was a pool table open and we grabbed it. Matt and Damon started a game while Caroline and I sat at the small table and talked about little things. "So, what happened with Bonnie and Stefan?" she asked out of the blue once we had placed our orders.

I shrugged, "I guess they couldn't make it work. She never really said anything about it to me."

She tipped her head to the side. "You really expect me to believe that?"

I didn't want to say it aloud because Damon would hear and I hadn't exactly told him why Stefan was being a little hostile lately. "No, but it's not my place to tell you or anyone else. I just know she and Stefan were having problems."

"He still isn't over you is he?" she asked and Damon missed his shot.

"Um, you'll have to ask him about that," I said and took a long drink. She wisely took that as I intended and dropped the subject. She started talking about Matt and how she was wishing that he would just propose to her already.

"Don't you think? It's been two years and he still hasn't mentioned anything about a future together."

I looked at Matt who was talking to Damon and even though I could hear what they were saying, I chose not to tune in. "I don't know. Why don't you ask him?" I suggested. "If you really love him and you know he loves you, I don't see why you should have to wait for him."

Her face lit up and she nodded excitedly. "Elena Gilbert, you are a genius!" she exclaimed and then her phone rang. "Excuse me," she said and headed outside so that she could hear better since the music was quite loud.

The boys came over and sat around the table to give themselves a little rest as they picked at their food. "Where'd she go?" Matt asked.

"She got a phone call," I said and nodded to the entrance. "She'll be back soon."

"So why did you disappear last time?" he questioned, making sure he kept my eyes locked with his.

"That woman, John's girlfriend, she was a shapeshifter and she attacked me. I killed her and I had to get rid of the body," I said in the short and condensed version of the story. "Have you even talked to Tyler since you came back?" I asked to change the subject from Devyn.

He shrugged as he took a drink. "He's closer to you than he ever was to me." He sounded a little hurt and jealous at that.

"That's not true. He misses you."

"I would really appreciate it if you took the wolf out for a walk from time to time when you're in the area," Damon said and smirked around his glass.

I shoved him gently and looked at Matt who was also smiling. My smile began to fade as Matt looked toward the entrance for any sign of Caroline who had been gone for a good seven minutes now. I looked at Damon and felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand straight up. Something was definitely not right. We both bolted to the door at the same time and Matt followed us, his fear resonated though my mind as we shot through the door and looked around. "One night!" I hissed and swore furiously under my breath.

"What the hell is going on?" Matt asked.

I shook my head and realized that I had left the stakes in my purse and my purse was in the Grill. I concentrated and in a few seconds my purse had floated out to me since the door was still open thanks to Matt. At this point, I didn't really care who had seen that, I needed to find Caroline and I needed to do it fast. "Matt, I can't explain right now, but there are people who are after me that are extremely dangerous." I handed a stake to Damon and gripped one tightly in my hand as well.

"I'll take the right, you take the left," Damon demanded and then disappeared around the side of the building.

"Stick with me," I said to Matt and he followed me to the other side of the building and we walked around.

I stopped immediately and he bumped into me. Right in front of me was a very tall African man with gleaming white fangs and frightening orange eyes. He had Caroline in a grasp that said he could snap her neck at any given moment. She was fighting with all her strength and her face was wet with tears. Her thoughts were screaming for help and were laced with pain from the tightness of the grasp. I felt movement around me and then there was another man holding Matt in a similar position with his fangs also out. "Drop the stake or we kill the humans," the tall African said in an accented voice and broken English.

I hesitated, searching for any possible outcome that didn't result in the death of my friends and froze in horror when a small woman of Spanish descent appeared next to the men holding Damon. I dropped the stake immediately and tried to get a hold on my emotions. "Let them go," I growled.

"And give up our leverage?" the woman asked. Her voice reminded me of Katherine's as did the twisted sense of humor her eyes were giving off.

I stared at her and when I spoke, my voice was unsteady. "What do you want?"

"To negotiate of course," said the smaller man. "If you would come with us," he added and motioned with a nod of his head towards a van. They threw Caroline and Matt in the back before they bound Damon's wrists and ankles with rope and then shoved him in as well.

"I didn't know the Originals needed a car," I said dryly.

The woman smiled. Though she was the youngest of the three, she was in charge, as far as I could tell. "Normally, we don't. Tonight was a special occasion," she said and before I could ask how she knew about our plans, she stabbed me with something and I looked down to see a large injection needle. I looked back up as the vervain started to settle in and began to sway on my feet before falling to the ground where I knew no one would catch me.


	11. Chapter 11

**a/n: so I totally forgot that the bookstore has free wifi! Needless to say, here's the next chapter!**

ELEVEN

My eyes fluttered open and though my vision was blurry, I could make out the shape of the van driving away, turning left onto the next street. I pushed myself to my feet and began to follow it while trying to gain my footing at the same time. I was willing to bet anything that they weren't counting on the vervain having no effect on me. It took at least a minute before I was back to normal and using my vampire speed to catch up with them as they got to the outskirts of town and into the denser part of the forest. Just before I could see the van, I heard the brakes. I slowed down, afraid that if they saw me, they would attack and I wasn't sure which of the two men was Travarus. I had a good guess based on ethnicity and names, but I wasn't sure and I didn't want to risk the lives of my friends. When I saw the van, the first thing my eyes took in was the busted back entrance. I smiled lightly at the fact that Damon had escaped despite the ropes. I heard a twig snap off to my right followed by Caroline's grunt of pain and took off to get her before anyone else could. I could only hope that Matt was with Damon and that the two of them were smart enough to just leave.

She flinched when I grabbed her and before she saw that it was me she lashed out and caught my cheek with her nails. Her eyes went wide when she recognized me and I covered her mouth before she could say anything. _Stay quiet,_ I demanded and her eyes opened in fear. _If you need to say anything, think it and direct your thoughts towards me. I'll hear you._

She was about to ask for further explanation but stopped when she looked past my shoulder. I read in her mind that someone was behind us before I heard anything and was able to doge the attack. I heard a crack and then Caroline screamed. I looked and her leg was broken, the bone slightly sticking out of her skin. I winced at the fact that I had pulled her away from the other vampire and caused this. I got into a crouching position in front of her and bared my fangs to the Original who was stalking around us. He hissed in response and then lunged. I landed on my back on the forest floor and groaned as my head spun from landing on a rock. Before I could do anything to fight him off, he sunk his fangs into my neck and began to drink. Unfortunately, my blood didn't seem to affect him as it had the last few.

As I began to feel lightheaded and sick to my stomach, his fangs detached and he lifted his head up to scream so loud it seemed to echo down to the deepest part of my mind. I squeezed my eyes shut and when I opened them, it was to see a few wisps of black smoke evaporating into nothing. A woman stood in front of me with her hands out stretched and a stake in the other. "Thank you," I said and grabbed her hand.

Then I heard the howls of wolves and her eyes flashed a golden color. "You're welcome."

"Who are you?" I asked, trying hard not to sway on my feet from the loss of blood.

"Lexa," she replied. "Part of Tyler's pack. He told you we were coming right?"

I nodded and took a step backwards to keep from falling. "Elena!" I heard Damon yell and then his arms were around me.

"Caroline," I mumbled and he looked at her. "Give her your blood."

"What?"

"Give her your blood," I repeated in a more demanding tone. "I can't afford to lose any more."

"Take some of mine. You're going to need it," Lexa said and stretched her wrist out to me.

"You know if I do this, she's going to remember everything right?" Damon asked, looking me straight in the eye.

I nodded slowly. "I would rather her know than have her dead."

Reluctantly he let me go and instead of watching her heal, I turned my attention to Lexa. "Where did you get the wood?"

"Tyler said to bring some on our way down just in case. We smelled vampire and then heard a scream so we came running," she said and shook her wrist. "Come on, you're wasting time."

I wasn't going to argue with her or dwell too much on the fact that she had been able to kill an Original without having any of my blood. It was too much information for the moment. I took her wrist and pressed it to my lips, my fangs sliding in with ease. I drank greedily and at the first taste felt incredibly powerful and ready to hunt. I didn't take much because Lexa needed her strength too, but even the little bit I did take was enough to make a huge difference. I licked the wound when I pulled back and my saliva allowed them to heal a little faster. "Thank you again."

She nodded curtly and placed a stake in my hand and then picked up the one that she had used to kill Tavarus. "I will take care of your friend. Tyler gave me instructions to the boarding house," she said and took Caroline from Damon. Her leg was in the beginning stage of healing and Caroline was groaning in pain as the bone reattached itself and the skin knitted closed.

"Where's Matt?" I asked Damon once Lexa started walking away with Caroline.

There was a howl and a loud yelp before he could answer and we both turned our heads in that direction. "Last I saw, another pack member was taking him to the boarding house. That bitch had taken half his blood if not more."

The body of a wolf with blood stained fur landed in a heap at our feet and we jumped back. The smaller man stood on the other side of the body and wiped blood from his chin while grinning at Damon and I. "Wolf blood is my favorite kind of blood," he commented and made a show of licking blood off his fangs.

I hissed and launched one of the stakes at him. He batted it out of the air before it reached him and gave a laugh before lunging at me with the swiftness of a cat. Damon pushed me out of the way so he was the one that got tacked to the ground. Since Ishmael was too focused on the attack to notice his intended target was free, I was able to get the other stake and concentrate of lifting it to chest level. By the time he realized it was Damon beneath him and not me he got up and turned. "I hope you enjoyed your last meal," I sneered and the stakes went soaring right into the hollow cavity of his chest where the heart should have been. He crumpled to the ground and turned to black smoke in a matter of seconds. I picked up the stakes and took off to find Reina with Damon trailing behind me in my footsteps.

We found her a few yards away surrounded by wolves both in human and animal form. All together they were doing a pretty good job at keeping her subdued. She was fighting with a wild light her her black eyes that I only saw in people losing a fight and knowing that there was no way to gain the upper hand. Today was definitely one for surprises. I had been under the impression that I was the only one able to kill the Originals and yet one had been killed by a lone wolf and another was about to be killed by at least twenty. I had fully intended to watch them kill her when Damon brought up a good point. "How did they know where we were?"

"Stop!" I demanded and the wolves began to back off. "You too Reina," I added and smiled wickedly when she tried to move but couldn't, due to my unseen hold on her. She struggled, but just like an anaconda, my grip tightened the more she moved.

I needed to keep my hold on her so I signaled for Damon to do the talking. "Do you know who told Velken where we were going when he tried to spike our wine with vervain?"

She snarled.

Damon tsked her and began to circle her as he spoke. "And what about Devyn? The sweet, innocent little shifter who became a spy for Nyssa. Why did she take up the position?"

She snarled again and struggled more; tightening the barrier around her even more to the point where her eyes were bulging. "And what about Hisoka? How in the world did he find out that Elena and I would be in Richmond that night?" He stopped when he was right in front of her and ran his finger along her bicep, drawing blood as he went. "More importantly, how did you know that the four of us would be at the Grill?" She snarled, but there was a glimmer to her eyes that I had seen in Katherine's when she was playing a game. I did not take that as a good sign. Especially when Damon asked, "Did Saint Stefan do something stupid again, like fall for the bad girl just to get back at his brother for taking his? Hmm?"

My heart sank to my stomach and I shrieked when I realized I had accidentally let go of the mental hold I had. She went for Damon's throat, but I was able to run at her with the stakes and caught her in the stomach. She was a black wispy cloud before she reached the ground. "Damn it!" I hissed and looked to make sure Damon was okay. "She didn't answer us. Do you really think it's Stefan?"

"I don't want to, but he has been broody lately."

That made my heart break all over again. I never thought I would hear Damon say anything remotely good about his brother. I hoped with everything I had left that it wasn't Stefan, because if it was, I wasn't so sure that either of us would be able to let him walk away from that kind of betrayal. "We need to talk to everyone before we jump to conclusions," I said quietly and met his eyes. We both knew who it was, but we didn't want to be right. I looked around at the wolves and humans who were only mildly hurt in one way or another. "Everyone alright?" I asked to the group.

A few nods and mumbles here and there said that they would be just fine by the time they got home. One wolf began to change into human form and I was slightly shocked at the sight of Darren. "I'm sorry that we didn't come sooner," he said and inclined his head to me.

I smiled and shook my head at him. "You came just in time. In fact, you're timing couldn't have been more perfect."

"I'm very glad we brought the wood as Tyler had suggested. At first I was against it because I wanted everyone to travel lightly, but I see now it was a wise decision."

I tried to imagine his idea of "light" travel and was left to wonder what they would have done for clothes if they had traveled to the boarding house in wolf form. I shook my head to stop my train of thought and looked at him. "Yes, it was. I can't thank you enough. Lexa saved my life. I owe her a great deal." _More than she'll ever know_, I thought and shivered slightly.

"You can track our scent correct?" Damon asked as he slid an arm around my shoulders. Darren nodded and Damon moved his arm down so he could take my hand in his. "Then we'll meet you at the boarding house," he added and with that, we were on our way home.


	12. Chapter 12

TWELVE

I pulled Damon to a stop in the backyard and made sure that we were far enough away that no one inside could hear us. "What are we going to say to everyone about the possibility of a spy?"

He looked at me cautiously. "You mean, how do we approach the subject without actually blaming my brother?"

I stared at him and nodded curtly. "I don't want it to be Stefan," I said tightly. "He was being compelled by Isobel last time and that was because he was weaker. He's been drinking human blood and I really don't see any reason why he would betray us like that willingly."

He crossed his arms. "Really? You don't see it?"

"I know that he still loves me and will for a very long time. He'll probably be heartbroken over what happened for longer than he was over Katherine, but I don't think it's a reason for him to do this. He would never do something that low. That's more like-"

Damon's lips curved into a barely there smile. "That's more like something I would do."

I nodded and leaned back against one of the sturdier trees. "Before we say anything about this, I'll take a look into everyone's mind. If I find something, I will let you know immediately." There was a long moment of silence between us before I sighed and looked back at the boarding house. Our heads turned slightly as we caught the soft thud of paws on dirt not far from us. I looked at him again. "What should I do about Caroline?"

"I think you should tell them about everything. I don't like it, but living in blind ignorance is only going to get them killed faster. Matt's going to be pissed because you let Stefan compel him anyway and Caroline is going to be furious with me for what I did to her in the first place."

I grinned at that one before I could stop myself. "I won't let her stake you," I said and he bent slightly to place a light kiss on my lips. Three wolves approached and turned into humans as they entered the backyard. I pulled away from Damon and turned to see Lexa and Tyler on the porch with clothes for those who had turned. "I'll deal with Caroline and Matt, you deal with everyone else?"

He nodded his head and grabbed my hand before we walked inside the house, leaving the wolves to change before coming in. I thanked Tyler briefly on the way in and then followed Caroline's worried shrieking thoughts up the stairs to the bedroom that Bonnie was using. She was there with Matt as they watched Caroline wither in pain on the bed while she remembered and healed at the same time. Bonnie's eyes met mine briefly before she turned her attention back on the healing spell she was using on Caroline. Matt was practically glowing in fury as he left the bed and came to stand in front of me. "She doesn't need you."

My jaw clenched tightly as I stood there, staring at him. His words cut through me like a knife and even though it was the anger talking, it was still the worst thing he could have said. "We need to talk. Then you can decide if you want me in your life or not." I made sure my voice was devoid of emotion and the surprise in his eyes told me I had succeeded.

"I need silence," Bonnie said quickly and I grabbed Matt to pull him into my room before he could protest.

"What the hell were you thinking Elena?" he yelled the second the door was closed. "I told you I wanted to help and you had Stefan fuck with my mind and tell me to leave you alone? Please tell me you didn't know about that."

"I told him to do it."

His hands turned into white knuckled fists as he half-turned from me. "He took you away from me the minute he came to town. Once you saw him, I knew I would never have another chance with you. I was willing to overlook what he did to you because he was being compelled by someone else to hurt you and I was trying my hardest to forgive him for Vickie." I saw the tears in his eyes when he neared the window and his eyes met mine in the reflection until he turned around to face me. "But you telling him to get rid of me for you is just unforgivable."

"Matt," I said cautiously, surprised by the amount of hurt that carried in my voice as I spoke. "I told him to do it because I didn't want you to die for me. I did the same thing to Jeremy."

He laughed bitterly, "Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"No, I was-"

"Stop," he demanded and raked a hand through his blond hair. "Just stop."

"Matt-"

He met my eyes again and he was hurting inside and out. "Did you know what Damon did to Caroline? The whole time Bonnie's been healing her, she's been muttering things." Answering this question was going to put an end to our friendship for sure. I simply nodded and he punched a hole in the wall. He favored his hand which was now covered in plaster and blood. I had to take a step back and look anywhere else but at the one spot in the room that was calling to me like a beacon. "You knew and you didn't do anything?"

"I wasn't a vampire at the time and I was with Stefan. Do you remember the Founder's thing at the Lockwood's? Stefan laced her drink with vervain and he got Damon to stop. It was right before I found out what they are. If I had known, I would have staked Damon myself right then and there. He hasn't touched her since."

He made some sort of grunt. "He used her."

"And I could have killed her but I didn't," Damon said as he stepped in, startling us both. "Elena was protecting you when she had your memory taken. You had no vampire blood in your system and you don't like the word no. If she had asked you to do nothing, you wouldn't have listened and got yourself killed. You can be angry with me all you want for turning your sister, but you cannot take this out on Elena. She was protecting you and you're alive because she cares about you."

Matt could only stare back and forth between us. "But Caroline-"

"Caroline got what she deserved. She liked playing with fire and as a result, she's much more cautious with her choices," Damon interrupted and Matt's eyes widened. He took a step forward and Damon pushed me back. "I wouldn't come any closer if I were you," he warned Matt and then looked at me.

"Elena?"

"I'm fine," I said, but took another step back anyway. "Look, hate me, I don't care, just know that I can't see you anymore. It hurts too much just to think that this might be the last time I do. I want you to have a normal life full of love and happiness and I didn't want you to miss out by helping me. You have Caroline and that's all that should matter to you. As soon as she's healed, the two of you are going to leave, having said your final goodbyes. I'm going to explain everything to you and Caroline and then you can choose whether or not you want to remember it," I said and walked out of the room to get away from the blood.

"Don't go after her you idiot," I heard Damon say and then the door shut again. I looked over my shoulder but they were both on the other side of it.

I knocked lightly on Bonnie's door and let myself in. Caroline shrank back against the headboard of the bed when she saw me and looked for an escape route. "What the hell is going on? What were those _things_?"

"They were extremely dangerous vampires," I said and took a careful step forward, looking at Bonnie. She nodded and got up to leave the room. Caroline's eyes went wide with renewed fear when it was just the two of us. I stood at the foot of the bed and stared at her. "What do you remember?" I asked her.

Her eyes narrowed and she seemed to collect herself. "Damon did horrible things to me. He made me do things for him and he used me. What do you see in him?"

"He's changed," was all I could say and my voice came out small.

She pushed herself off the bed and I remained where I was as I watched her pull her shoes on. "We were best friends since I can remember. I love you Elena, I always will, but we're not as good as friends as we used to be. Whatever happened tonight is your fault and I don't want any part in it. You're different, I get it, but you obviously don't want to tell me everything, so I'll save you the trouble and leave."

"But I came in here to tell you everything," I said lightly and she stopped with her hand on the doorknob. "You remember what Damon is and what he did, but there's more to it than that."

She turned and crossed her arms. "The fact that you know what he is and what he's done but you're still with him shows exactly how much you've changed and it's not for the good."

I showed her my fangs and she backed up against the wall. I retracted them and kept my distance. "I wanted to tell you all along, but I didn't think you could handle it and I didn't want you to hate me. Stefan is a vampire too and Tyler is a werewolf."

Her eyes bulged out of her head as she looked at me. "_What?_"

"And Bonnie is a real witch," I added even though she had known that since Bonnie had told her when all of this had started. "I know what Damon did is horrible, but he's different. He's changed immensely since we...got together and he's a better person. He does feel bad about what he did to you."

"Because he does or because I'm your friend?"

"Both," I said with a slight smile.

She sighed and stepped away from the door while keeping her distance from me at the same time by side stepping her way back to the bed where she could sit. "I don't really care about Damon, that was three years ago. What I care about was the fact that I almost died today and I want to know why."

I nodded and told her what she needed to know. I told her that a year ago, Damon was taken from me over something his ex did long ago and that I had killed the man who had taken him and now his friends were out to get me. "I truly am sorry Caroline. I never wanted you to find out this way."

"Or at all," she added dryly. We were silent a moment before she looked past me to check herself in the mirror. "So, should Matt and I come to Jenna's wedding then?"

"That's entirely up to you. If you're not there, I'm sure she would understand once I explain things to her. You were invited."

"Yes, but do _you_ want us there?"

"Yes and no," I admitted and there was a knock on the door before she could ask another question.

It was Matt so I stepped back to let him in. "We're leaving. Come on Caroline," he said and refused to look at me. I didn't have to be a telepath to know that he was going to be angry with me for quite a long time and this was definitely the end of our friendship. I would be lying if I said it didn't hurt.

_I'll work on him_, Caroline thought at me as she went to him, surprising me. I smiled as I watched them walk down the stairs and flinched when the door slammed after them.

Damon came to stand next to me and put an arm around my shoulders. "She's much more resilient than I gave her credit for," I said lightly and relaxed against him.

He shrugged and I closed my eyes to inhale his scent. "You're stalling."

I nodded, rubbing my cheek on the cool material of his clean shirt. "I don't want to talk to any of them. I just want this to be over with. I want to leave and be done with everything. I just want to be alone with you forever and ever."

He moved away so that he could cup my jaw and make my eyes meet his. "And we will, but running away will not solve anything." _If it is Stefan, we will have to kill him. You do know that right?_

I pulled out of his grasp and blinked back tears. I nodded and rolled my shoulders before looking at him again. _Whoever it is will be paying a hefty price for this. They put my family in danger and I can't have that._

He nodded once and stepped forward to grab my hand. "Okay, let's go meet the other wolves. Are you going to be okay around them?"

I thought that one over for a moment, recalling my reaction to the small amount of blood from Matt's little cut. "I think you should make sure there's no supernatural blood down there and that Tyler and Lexa are way on the other side of the room. And that they stay there," I said and he smiled.

"Anything for you, your highness," he said and gave a little bow.

I shoved him playfully, "Thank you," I said as he went downstairs to check. I was smiling as I watched him and that smile disappeared when I turned around to see Stefan standing outside his door.


	13. Chapter 13

**a/n: Okay, I know things have been a little slow lately, but I didn't want to just go, go, and then be done. I'm about to start tying things up as it is and I have two other chapters already done and ready to go! I would like to especially thank Zoraya Windwalker for being my beta reader (and explaining what that is) lol. Also, I'm back from my trip so updates should be regular again :)**

THIRTEEN

He closed the door softly as we regarded each other awkwardly. I knew there was no way that he could have heard the conversation Damon and I had had about him because it had been in our heads, but I was sure I looked pretty guilty. "You okay?" he asked.

I tried to smile at him, but instead, ended up looking away. "Sort of."

He remained where he was and just watched me. I saw his lips part and then his hesitation made me focus on him. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"For?" I asked cautiously, preparing for an attack.

"For what happened while we were cleaning out the rooms. I didn't mean to make you upset and I sure as hell didn't want you to run away."

I began to relax a little and found myself sighing with relief. "Don't worry about it."

"I just wanted to clarify some things," he said and made sure that I was paying attention before he continued. "I don't know why I wanted to remind you of the vampire Damon used to be, but I did. Yes, I'm still in love with you and it's going to be a very long time before that feeling will go away, but I'll get over it. I will _never_ do anything to ruin you r relationship with Damon. You're perfect for each other." The last part he said quietly and his eyes dropped to the floor.

I chose that moment to enter his mind and dig around. He looked up as he realized what I was doing and I felt the walls start to come up; an instant red flag. I surged forward to grab any of his exposed skin to amplify the connection with his mind and I searched even as he fought me. He managed to dig his hand into my side and I felt a twinge of pain as I realized his nails had sliced through the skin. I stepped back to see his face had contorted into full vampire mode, fangs out and all. He pushed me away and I bounced off the wall in surprise and just watched him fly down the stairs followed by the sound of the door. I began to tremble and would have fallen to the ground if Damon hadn't hurried up to catch me.

"Elena?" he asked as I clung to him. "I'll go after him," he vowed and started to pull away.

I stopped him and held on. "Just let him go."

_Is he the one that's betraying us?_

_ I was searching his mind and he started putting up walls and then fought me. I didn't get any useful information out of him_, I said and nuzzled his chest while his hands stroked my back. Aloud, I said, "Let's go."

He nodded and I followed him down to the living room to meet the pack. All the conversation died when I walked in the room and most of their thoughts were full of concern at the hasty departure of Stefan. "Everything okay?" Bonnie asked as Damon and I sat in front of the fireplace.

"Yeah," I said and tried to look reassuring. I knew instantly that they saw right through my lie. My eyes scanned the crowd to where Tyler and Lexa were. They were sitting together at the back of the crowd and from the way she was leaning on him I was able to discern that Lexa was the one Tyler had mentioned he was seeing. If that was true, I really liked her. Damon was the one who told the others what had happened tonight and the incidents that had taken places previously. Darren asked most of the questions but the others chimed in when they felt the need. Once the big discussion was out of the way and plans were set in motion just in case, Darren introduced key pack members.

"This is Deborah King. She is my second," he said and an athletic woman in her thirties stood up. Her hair was bound in a tight braid down her back and she had an air of authority around her. "Her husband, Anthony," he added and gestured to the burly man next to her. It was very stereotypical of me, but the majority of the people in my living room could pass for bikers and the rest would be categorized as thrill seekers. "Of course, this is not the whole pack. Only the ones able to fight came with me. There are more loyal members at home caring for the young."

"Thank you," I said and inclined my head to him as Damon and I stood as well.

"You've taken such great care of my nephew when his kin would not that I would be just as horrible as they are to not have helped." It was similar to what he said last time he was here.

I looked at Damon. "Want to show them where they will be staying?" He nodded and I made my way to Lexa and Tyler. I kept a little distance between us just in case, but I was pleasantly surprised to feel no compulsion to bite either of them. "I know I said it before, but thank you again. I really do owe you for saving my life."

She bowed her head, something I was beginning to notice as common among the wolves. "I was doing my duty," she said and smiled at Tyler. "If you keep him safe, I keep you safe."

I grinned at the both of them. Someone called Lexa and she excused herself. "I like her."

He beamed. "Me too."

"How did you meet?"

"She was at my uncle's house when I came to visit and we just started talking and that was that. Her and I are the only unmated pack members in our age range."

My brow lifted in questioning. "What does that mean?"

"It means once I'm officially part of pack, there's going to be a ceremony for us to be mated and then we'll...well...you get the picture."

I cleared my throat and stepped back because I was definitely getting the picture. He smiled apologetically. "Anyway, I'm really glad she found me in time."

"She told me," he said and I tensed when he put his arms around me out of instinct. "Sorry," he added and stepped back. "I just don't understand how they were able to find you every time so easily. It's almost like-"

I clamped my hand over his mouth and shook my head slightly. He nodded and I let go. "We'll talk about it later," I told him and went to find Bonnie.

"Where did Stefan run off to?"

"Not now," I said in a quiet voice as I sat on the arm of the chair she occupied.

"This place is going to be packed with people. You going to be okay?" she asked, pointing to her head.

I thought about it and shrugged. "If it gets to be too much I can always go to Jenna's. Or Jeremy's."

She pulled my hand into her lap and laced her fingers with mine. "I'm sorry about Matt and Caroline."

"I'm just glad that they weren't killed. Caroline took it much better than I expected and Matt...I hope he can learn to forgive me, but at the same time, it's a good thing that he won't be coming around anymore. Oh, you should call Caroline soon because I'm pretty sure I put it into her head to propose to him and you should be there for her." I slipped out of her grasp and stood up when I saw Damon coming. "Is there enough room for everyone?" I asked.

"Barely, but Darren said they're going to alternate keeping watch in the woods anyway so it should be fine."

I could tell he wanted to talk more without anyone being able to hear us. I turned to Bonnie, "Um, I'm actually going to head over to Jenna's tonight. Will you call if there are any problems here?"

"You're leaving?"

I nodded. "Just for a bit. The wards on the house are good right?"

"So far."

_If you see Stefan, be weary_, I warned and then said goodbye to her.

"Why did you tell her where we were going?" he asked once we were outside on the porch.

"Because we're going to John's," I said and took off with him close at my heels.

It felt strange to leave so soon after both an attack and the pack getting settled, but I just needed some time to sort things out with Damon before I made any real decision. It was extremely late in the night, or early in the morning, depending on how you looked at it, but for this, I'm sure he wouldn't mind. As we approached the building he lived in, it struck me that I had never actually been here before. It was a townhouse like the ones Alaric had been living in before he moved in with Jenna and I was almost certain it was the same complex. I was following his scent more than looking for the address he gave me. After ringing the doorbell a few times, he opened the door in his pajamas and tousled hair. "Elena?" he asked and became a little more alert.

"Can we come in?" I asked after a few seconds.

"Come in," he said and stepped back to let us in. "What's wrong?" he asked the second the door was shut.

We sat at the small bistro type table that he had in the kitchen/dining area and I filled him in on what happened earlier tonight. "The pack is at the boarding house, but there are too many brains there. It's making me anxious."

"Why didn't you call me before?" he asked, clearly unhappy about being one of the last people to know. He was used to being right there at all times and it did feel strange that he hadn't been there.

Damon got to the real reason we were here instead of answering his question. "There's something else. Don't you think it's a little strange that the Originals seem to know our every move? Someone tried to lace our drinks on Valentine's Day, then there was Devyn, and then the incident in Richmond followed by an open attack this close to home."

"You think someone's spying," he said solemnly as he remembered the night I killed Devyn. I looked away from him as he relived it and nodded. His brow rose. "You think you know who it is?"

"We think it's Stefan," I said lightly and felt tears welling up in my eyes.

Damon told John about what happened at the boarding house before talking to the pack members about everything. John reached across the table to put his hand over mine and I jumped slightly. "As much as you don't want it to be Stefan, I think I agree with Damon on this one."

"It's not like it matters. He's gone now. If he is the spy, he's not going to know anything from here on out. And if we don't tell anyone else about our suspicions, then there should be no more coincidences, right?" I asked as I got up and started pacing in front of the table. "He's not going to let me get close enough to read his mind again."

"That should be enough proof for you," Damon pointed out.

"We could arrange a meeting. As far as he's concerned, you and Damon are the only ones that suspect him."

"Yes, but he knows I would tell you and Alaric along with Bonnie and Tyler before I did anything about it," I said and shook my head. "No, if it's true, the next time we see him will be in the next fight. And he'll be siding with the Originals," I concluded and walked down the hall to what I hoped was the guest bedroom and sank down on the edge of the bed. It wasn't long before Damon was there with his arms around me. I put my head on his shoulder and shed a few tears, trying very hard to keep the guilt I was feeling from overwhelming me.

"This isn't your fault," he said, seeming to have sensed what I was thinking.

"Yes it is. It's both of us that did this to him," I argued. "If he hadn't been possessed, I wouldn't have been pushed to you like I had been. I know that I would probably have left him for you eventually, but I would have done it the right way when he was normal. Instead I go behind his back without really ending out relationship," I said and stood up, my fists clenching at my sides. I tipped my head back and gave a growl of frustration. "I'm just like her. I tried so hard not to be and yet it was for nothing."

"Elena," he said in a tone that forced me to look at him. He rose gracefully from the bed and looked at me with nothing but love in those blue eyes. "I could tell you that you're nothing like her for all eternity, but you won't believe me unless you change your own thought patterns first. I don't regret anything about the way we started. This is Stefan's own doing. If he hadn't resented his nature, he would have been strong enough to _not_ fall under Katherine's compulsion. He was weak, Elena; he deserved what happened to him. He deserved to lose you."

I sighed heavily and let him pull me against him. "I hate that I think he's doing this."

He stroked my back and placed a kiss on the top of my head. "Stefan was never meant for this life, he never had it in him. I truly believe that killing him once and for all would be the best thing for him."

"What if it isn't him though?" I asked and pulled my head back to look at him. I met his gaze and put my head back on his chest. His answer was the same. I knew in my heart that Stefan was only going to get worse if he lived any longer in the life that he was forced into by a girl he never really loved. I tightened my hold on him and we stayed like that for what seemed like a very long time before we moved to the bed and fell asleep. Still holding onto each other with everything we had.


	14. Chapter 14

**a/n: Thanks again to Zoraya Windwalker for being my beta reader :) As for the little talk Damon and Elena had about killing Stefan just because...it was more of Damon doing some wishful thinking out loud and I won't kill him off for that reason; if I do kill him off at all. )**

FOURTEEN

Almost five weeks had passed since the last attack and it had taken that long to adjust living in a house with so many people. Granted, the house was made for hosting vast amounts of travelers, but I was accustomed to six at the most, not close to forty. On the plus side, it was helping me control my powers a lot more than I thought it would. Unfortunately, they were getting restless in the sense that they had been pulled from their lives for what seemed like nothing since there were no attacks. Which led my thoughts right back to Stefan. Since he hadn't been seen or heard from since he took off that night, he looked guiltier as time went by.

I paced in front of his bedroom door, trying to sum up enough courage to go in. I had been putting off Damon's idea of using my psychometry to see whether or not we were right about him in the first place. After a few arguments he dropped the subject and decided to let me do it when I was ready. It only added to the tension in the house of those itching for a fight. Just when I thought I was good to go, the sound of another door stopped me and I looked up to see Tyler coming out of his room. He had a large grin on his face and he jumped a little when he saw me. His smile faded slightly when he saw my hand resting on the doorknob.

"What are you doing?"

I looked at the door and stepped back from it, shaking my head. "Nothing."

He studied me, knowing I was lying, and decided to let it go. "There is something I need to talk to you about, but I would rather we not do it here with so many ears to hear us," he said and his eyes flickered to the stairs.

"That's good because I told your mother about two months ago that I had some things to take over there so that will give us plenty of time to talk."

His jaw dropped and his eyes looked pleading. "Not really what I had in mind," he mumbled.

I shrugged, "Well, I have something to do, but when I get back, we'll head over."

"Where's Damon?" he asked looking at my bedroom door and sniffing the air.

"He's out with some of the wolves on patrol."

"Really? Since when did he start doing that?"

"Right around the time he was getting too restless for me to be around. He's not exactly passive when it comes to danger."

He made an O with his mouth and nodded. "He's looking for Stefan. It was not a question. Instead of saying anything to agree or disagree, I turned to the stairs and started my descent. "Hey! Where do you think you're going?"

"I said I had something to do," I said in a quiet voice, already halfway down.

"Alone?"

"Yes and I would very much appreciate it if you didn't say anything about this to anyone."

He had the hint of a grin on his face and nodded. "I won't say anything to Damon," he said and I returned his grin with one of my own.

"Thanks," I said and slipped out the front door and moved too fast for the wolves in the forest to even register that I had ever been there. I slowed once I was well past the boarding house and I knew there weren't any wolves around. It was pretty early in the morning, so early that the sun had just barely begun to rise. It wasn't exactly smart to be out here by myself, but I was stronger than pretty much anything that would come after me and that gave me a little sense of comfort.

I got to John's relatively fast, although not as fast as I could have and stopped on the other side of the street as I caught a whiff of wolf. I followed it all the way to his door and began to panic. I knew the wolves were friendly, but they had no reason to be here and that terrified me. I had the image of blood and a body in mind when I burst through the door and stopped short at the unexpected sight. There was a woman facing me in front of an open fridge wearing nothing but a barely long enough T-shirt. Her sandy blonde hair was a mess and she had a glass of milk clutched in her hand, her hazel eyes were blazing with embarrassment. "Elena?" she asked in a shaky voice that was full of surprise.

I looked at her and it took a second to realize that she was a member of the pack. "Vivian," I said and nodded at her, instantly averting my eyes. John hurried into the kitchen and slowed when he saw the both of us. "John."

He cleared his throat and I saw him blush for the first time. He was only wearing a pair of lounging pants and he crossed his arms in front of him, absently rubbing his arms with his hands as if he were cold. "Everything okay?" he asked.

I nodded. "Mhmm."

"Good, excuse us," he said and they disappeared down the hall to get dressed from what I could discern from their thoughts. I sat on the couch in the living room and the second after my hand touched the arm, I shot right back up and shivered. Then I grinned; if only the other inhabitants of the boarding house knew how Damon and I loved that kitchen counter...

My thoughts were interrupted when John returned to the room and we sat at the kitchen table. "So, how long has this been going on?" I asked, trying to keep my voice down. I smiled as the radio went on in the bedroom.

"I met her three weeks ago," he said and got up to start a pot of coffee. I tried not to show how taken aback I was at his normalcy. It was the first time we had been this casual with each other. "Want some?"

"Sure," I said and inhaled deeply at the sharp scent of freshly opened coffee grounds. I watched him get out two mugs, cream, sugar, and other things that he preferred for his morning coffee ritual. "You do know what she is right?"

He nodded even though he wasn't looking at me. "Darren sent her to Jenna's, Jeremy's, and to me as a messenger to let us know that the wolves were in town and if they needed anything, to let them know."

"I forgot about that," I said lightly. I vaguely remembered Darren asking me if it was okay to do something like that a few weeks ago. I didn't remember answering him, but apparently I had said yes. "So, I'm assuming you hit it off really well."

He returned to the table with two steaming mugs of coffee and a genuine smile. I couldn't help but smile too since they were so rare with him. "This time I have no problem with you taking a peak inside her mind."

"Already have," I assured him and smiled wider. "She's good."

He told me a few things about how she planned to stay here in Mystic Falls even after the pack went home just in case their relationship turned into more. "What really brings you by? At this hour," he added and watched me over the rim of his mug.

I smirked and took a drink. The liquid scalded my throat and after a few seconds of pain, I healed and felt nothing. He shook his head and took another sip. "I was just going to come and check on you, leave a note, and do some thinking in the guest room. I smelled wolf and I thought...well, I thought wrong," I said and tapped my nails on the mug.

"Thanks for looking out for me," he replied put his mug down. "Any word on Stefan?" he asked in an even softer voice that only I would be able to pick up.

I shook my head and looked down at the almost empty mug before I sighed and pushed myself out of the chair. "Just be careful and I'm sorry I interrupted," I said and headed to the door. "Thanks for the coffee."

"You sure you're going to be okay going back?"

"I made it here just fine."

He put his hand on my shoulder before I left and I looked at him. "I know you don't want it to be him, but I think you have to accept it instead of trying to prove Damon wrong."

"I know," I said and with that, I was gone, racing back to the boarding house at top speed. I pulled myself to a stop at the sight of Damon on the front porch and looked down to see the ground had been dug into from my sudden stop. "Uh oh," I muttered and put a light smile on my face as I walked up to meet him.

"Where'd you go?" he asked. "I got back from patrol and you were gone. No one could tell me where you were," he said and crushed me to him.

"I thought Tyler would have told you."

He pulled me away and held on to my shoulders. "Why would Tyler tell me?"

"Because I told him not to," I said and he started to smile and then stopped himself, remembering that he was angry with me. "I was at John's, nothing happened. Now I'm taking Tyler to his mothers to drop of some things I found while I was cleaning. Is that okay with you?"

"That depends, can you handle being alone with Tyler?" he asked and I felt a pang of hunger course through me.

"I'll eat first. It would be great if you could start loading up the car," I said and smiled as I walked into the house.

I went straight to the fridge downstairs and drank two blood bags before I went to fetch Tyler. The three of us finished loading one of the pack members cars that could actually hold the larger items and Damon waved us off after a very stern warning to Tyler with an underlying threat if I didn't come home safe and "alive." "I hate you for this," he groused as he sank into the seat.

"If I went by myself, I might end up killing your parents."

His brow rose. "And that's a problem how?"

I just shook my head and laughed. "The sooner we get this over with, the sooner you'll never have to see them again. Keep that in mind. You can brag all you want about moving to Maine and your hot new girl and there's nothing they can do about it."

He perked right up at that and didn't complain again. Mrs. Lockwood met us at the front door and gave Tyler a strange look over the fact that he hadn't just walked in. "Tyler, Elena, what a pleasure to see you," she said and tried to hug him but he shied away from her.

"I'm done with sorting through the things in the boarding house, and thought I'd just bring them here before they gather any more dust just laying around," I said and she instructed Tyler and me where we could store it in the house.

"Thank you so much Elena," she said and studied me. It made me tense to see that look on her face, even if I couldn't read her mind, I could tell that she was thinking I looked younger than I should. She smiled and shook her head. "It took your mother years to look her age. I wish my family had that gene," she remarked and then let Tyler and I do our thing.

"See, that wasn't as painful as you thought, huh?" I asked him when we were almost done loading things into the garage.

"Not really," he admitted and we finished the rest in silence. After we said our goodbyes to Mrs. Lockwood, I found Tyler glaring at me. "I think werewolves got gipped."

"What?" I asked as I slid into the seat behind the wheel.

"You're not even breaking a sweat and I know you took the heavier boxes without even thinking about it. It's not fair." I only smiled as I pulled out of the driveway. "So why did you want to come out here?"

"I need a distraction and I figured it was the perfect one. You said you needed to talk?" I asked, changing the subject in a not so subtle way.

"Darren is thinking of taking the pack back to Maine since they've been here for five weeks and nothing has happened. He hasn't said anything to me directly, but I've heard some things and I can feel the tension in the air. He would never ask you outright, but I thought I should tell you."

I nodded. "I've been feeling that too."

"You don't think it has something to do with Stefan do you?" My grip on the steering wheel tightened, but I said nothing. "It's just really weird that there's all these attacks at the perfect moment and now that he's gone there hasn't even been a hint of one."

"I'm not agreeing or disagreeing, but you need to not bring that up to anyone else okay? I'll compel you to forget if I have to," I said and looked sharply at him to convey the seriousness of this.

He nodded and dropped the topic to my relief. "Do you think it would be a good idea to let the pack leave?"

"As much as I like the added protection being around, I don't think it's fair to them. I'll talk to Darren when I get back," I said as I parked the car in front of the boarding house with the other cars.

"Now where are you going?" he asked as he got out.

"Jenna, Anna, Bonnie, and I are going to New York for one of the last fittings for our dresses. This trip Damon knows about so I don't want to hear any whining from you," I said and smiled before entering the house.

Bonnie jumped up and raced over to me. "Can we go?" she asked with a sense of urgency.

"Why the rush?"

She lowered her voice and leaned into my ear to whisper, "I've had enough of nothing but noise."

"Let me say goodbye to Damon. Will you get the wood for us?" I asked and she hurried down to the basement to get some stakes for the four of us. I went to my room and saw Damon lounging on the bed, reading a book in Italian. It was a sight I had rarely seen and it made me feel warm and fuzzy inside. He put the book over his chest to keep his spot and looked at me. "Bonnie and I are about to leave for New York."

"When will you be back?"

"Not sure, but that completely depends on Jenna. I know she's getting the jitters and while we're there, we might take her out. I'll let you know either way if we stay a night or come back. Bonnie's bringing the wood and her magick stuff so we're all set."

He set the book on the bed and came to stand in front of me. "I don't like not being there with you and I don't understand why I can't go."

"I'm trying to remind Jenna to be happy and if you're there as a bodyguard it's only going to make her anxious," I said and slid my arms around his neck. "If she were her normal self I would have no objections to you coming with us."

His lips brushed mine and I let my fingers sink into his hair while he deepened the kiss. He was using his expert skill to keep me here and damn him, but it was working. I pulled my face away and he had a wicked grin on his. "You sure you want to go?"

I wiggled my hips against him and then pulled away completely, "Now I am," I said and winked before opening the door. "I'll see you later," I called over my shoulder and then took an impatient Bonnie to Jenna's where she and Anna were waiting for us.


	15. Chapter 15

FIFTEEN

It seemed that Jenna had relaxed quite a bit once Anna and Bonnie announced there was no issues with their dresses. But as we were sitting there waiting for them to be done, I noticed that something was still off with her. "Jenna? Are you okay?" I asked, trying my hardest to stay out of her mind.

She nodded quickly. "Everything is fine, there's just something..." her voice trailed off and I watched her swallow hard as if she were extremely nervous. "There's something I need to tell you and Jeremy and I don't know how to start. In all honesty I thought you would have read my mind by now, but you're going to make me do it the old fashion way and tell you myself."

Jenna didn't usual ramble and my brow went up as I looked at her. "Are you afraid we'll get mad at you?"

"A little."

I put my hand over hers reassuringly and smiled a little at her. "Just tell us. If you want, I can wait until we get home and you can talk to us at the same time."

She shook her head. "No, you'll handle it better than he will and I'll probably need your help to tell him." She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Okay, here goes. You know that I came back to take care of you and Jeremy when your par- when your aunt and uncle passed away and when you were both old enough, I was going to let you make your own decision about what to do with the house. I left Mystic Falls because I wanted out of the small town and now that you and Jeremy have lives of your own..."

I sat back in my chair and focused on my hands that were now in my lap. "You want us to sell it so you and Alaric can move."

She took my hands and I looked at her. "I'll understand if you want to keep it, but neither of us wants to live in this town anymore. There's not enough to do and I miss the city."

I nodded because I completely understood. "I'll sign over the deed to the two of you. You're right, you'll need my help telling Jeremy."

"Thank you so much for understanding."

"It's just a house Jenna," I said and looked up as Bonnie and Anna came to stand in front of us in their dresses. "Wow, you two look gorgeous," I breathed.

_Jeremy's really not going to like selling that house_, Anna thought at me and I nodded at her.

_I know, but it's not like he can live there forever anyway._

_True, but the Salvatore's have the boarding house, you know he's going to bring that up_.

I nodded again, but let the subject drop for now. "I'm so happy the fittings turned out so good. I hope mine is the same way," Jenna said as the two girls went back to the dressing room to change into their normal clothes. Just as she hoped, her fitting went without a hitch and when we left, we were told to come back in a month to pick them up and take them home. "Lunch?" Jenna asked once we were outside the shop.

Bonnie nodded vigorously in agreement while Anna and I shrugged. "Lead the way," I told them and the two of them picked the restaurant they wanted to eat at. Once we were seated, Anna and I both scanned the crowd and made sure it was safe before we even glanced at our menus.

Since the pack had moved in, we hadn't had many visitors so Jenna began asking all sorts of questions about how things were. "How are Damon and Stefan getting along with it being so crowded?" she asked.

I didn't know what to say and it was too late for me to tell a complete lie because Anna was staring at me. Luckily, Bonnie answered for me. "I broke up with him almost two months ago. He couldn't stand being in the same place with Elena and I, especially with Damon basking in Stefan's failure, so he took off for awhile." She shrugged and took a long drink from her glass. "We haven't heard from him since."

"Is it safe for him to be off alone?" Jenna asked, looking at me.

"No, but then again I'm the one they're after so I think he'll be just fine."

_I expect a full story when we get back_, Anna said and I nodded at her. To Jenna, she asked, "Where are you and Alaric thinking of moving to?"

Jenna shot her a look of alarm and then laughed to herself. "Of course you heard. I always forget about that. We have a few places in mind, California, Arizona, Florida, or maybe Washington DC."

Anna had that bored look on her face that said all of Jenna's choices sound dull to her and it reminded me of the fact that she was around four hundred years old and had seen it all. "Good choices," she muttered.

Jenna wanted to laugh, but nodded anyway. "Thanks."

The waiter came and took our orders. The moment he walked away, Anna slid out of the booth and looked at me. "I'm sure you'll have objections to me going to the restrooms by myself. Come with me?"

I grinned and nodded as we excused ourselves and found the bathroom at the back of the restaurant. "Thank you for not going alone," I said as I waited by the sinks while she locked herself in one of the stalls.

"Welcome," she said and my phone began to ring.

"Hello?" I said as I answered.

"Coming home yet?" Damon asked.

"Soon," I promised and then Anna came out after flushing.

"How did the fittings go?" he asked.

"Pretty well which was very unusual from what I hear and see on TV. Jenna seems more relaxed than I thought she would be." Anna finished washing her hands and stood there staring at me. I waved her to go ahead of me and she rolled her eyes and headed back to the table. "We're eating lunch now and I have no idea if Jenna's ready to go home or not. My guess is yes, but we'll see." There was a loud crash in the background followed by a yelp and howls. I straightened up and went on high alert. "Damon?"

He laughed into the phone. "Sparring games."

I sagged against the cool, tile wall and shook my head. "Seriously? Do you want me to stay the night in the city so there's no 'adult' supervision?" I teased.

"I'm up."

"Who are you sparring?" I asked.

"Tyler," he replied in an almost giddy voice.

"Don't hurt him. Much."

"I won't," he said and cleared his throat. "Love you."

"You too," I breathed and hung up. I closed my eyes and grinned at the thought of Tyler and Damon sparring in the living room. As much as I wouldn't want it to happen, I was still curious to see what would come of it.

"No Damon?" I suddenly heard Stefan's voice in front of me. My eyes snapped open and I straightened up, keeping my eyes on him and him alone. "I was beginning to think I'd never see you without him again."

"What do you want?" I asked, keeping my voice cold.

"Just to talk," he said and rested against the other wall.

I risked a glance at the door and found it locked. "Why haven't you come to the boarding house if you just want to talk?" I questioned.

"Because Damon would kill me and worry about it later. I'm not a spy Elena."

"You don't exactly look innocent either Stefan. You ran away; give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you myself right now," I demanded and took a deadly step forward.

"You ambushed me," he said defensively, but didn't move from his spot.

"I was trying to prove Damon wrong. You put up walls and bolted like a guilty person would. What were you hiding?"

He stood up then and jammed his hands in his pockets. "Just because you can read someone's mind doesn't mean you have a right to go digging around for information at any time. If you thought I was betraying you, you should have just asked. I wouldn't lie to you, especially about something like that. The last time I did it, I was under Katherine and Isobel's influence and I hate myself every day for being weak enough that they could do that to me. It kills me inside to know that you don't love me anymore because I hurt you and I didn't mean to do it."

"Stefan-"

"No, I get it Elena, I do, but if you suspected me, you should have asked. You attacked me this time and I didn't like it so I left. I was tired of being under constant watch for something that I'll never do again."

We stood there for a long, silent moment sizing each other up, waiting for the other to move or do something. I broke the silence first. "To make matters worse, we haven't been attacked since you left. If it wasn't you, then who was it?"

He surged forward until I was between him and the wall I had been leaning on before. His hands were flat against mine, but he was holding them above my head while he stared me straight in the eye. "It. Was. Not. Me," he insisted.

"Then who?" I asked, waiting for exactly the right moment to break away from his hold and remind him who was the stronger of the two of us.

He removed his hands and my arms drifted down to my sides while his slid around my waist to pull me close. He was hugging me and it made me even more confused. I slowly returned his hold and rested my chin on his shoulder lightly. "I don't know who it was Elena, and I need you to believe me. I want to come home."

The tone of his voice made my eyes cloud with tears. I felt the lids shut against the oncoming tears and I held him tighter. "Then come home. I believe you," I whispered.

I released him and wiped at my eyes before stepping in front of him. I froze in place at the sight of a man and a woman with the exact same face standing between us and the door. The woman tipped her blonde head to the side and smiled sweetly. "You were right, she looks _exactly_ like that little bitch Klaus loved so much. No wonder he didn't kill her," she said in a voice accented in English. She licked her lips and fingered a dagger she was holding.

_Anna! Get Bonnie and Jenna out of here now! Tell Damon it was Stefan!_ I screamed over and over as I felt Stefan's arms lock around me to pin my arms at my sides. "I'm stronger than you," I hissed at him.

_I'm coming-_

_ No! Just go!_ I yelled.

"Yes, you are, but you still need blood in your system to be strong," the man said in an almost identical voice to the woman. I moved to break free but it was too late. Stefan had already bit into the curve of my neck and began to drink. I struggled and fought but he was winning. I could feel myself growing weaker and weaker until everything began to get blurry. When I was nearly drained, he dropped me to the floor and then crouched over me. He licked his lips and wiped the blood from the corners of his mouth. He looked at the twins and then down at me again. "I would finish you off, but I think it would be more fun to have Damon do the honors," he said and then delivered a blow that knocked me out cold.


	16. Chapter 16

**a/n: this chapter's really on the dark side...just to warn you. Thanks again to my beta reader, Zoraya Windwalker for editing these :)**

SIXTEEN

I felt the warmth of blood flowing down my throat, bringing me back into consciousness. I reached up to grab the bottle and drank greedily. When it was empty, I sat up and looked at Stefan who was crouched over me, worry written all over his face. In the blink of an eye I tackled him to the ground and had his arms pinned to the floor with my legs as I leaned over him, my hands forcefully exposed his throat. "That was a very stupid thing you did Stefan."

"I can explain."

"You have exactly one minute before I kill you," I hissed and leaned closer to his throat.

"I didn't tell them where to find you. I didn't tell any of them. When you tried to read my mind I was afraid that you would find out exactly how much I'm still in love with you and the last thing I needed was for you to think any less of me or treat me differently so I just left. I know I should have come back, but Damon would have pounced on me and I didn't want to deal with him. I came to New York and they found me. They knew who I was and they said if I helped them get you they wouldn't hurt anyone else."

"You _drained_ me Stefan," I snarled and he winced when I tightened my grip on him.

He swallowed thickly and nodded as much as he could. "I knew what they were going to do and I prepared. I have bottles of supernatural blood waiting for you." My eyes flickered to the right and I heard the low hum of a mini fridge for the first time. I looked back at Stefan with doubt. "I asked them how the others were able to find you so easily and it's because you share the blood of Katherine. They've all had her blood as some sort of protection agreement and they can track you through that."

"Why did they all come in the order?"

"Because the oldest ones are supposed to be the strongest," he said and grinned somewhat although it looked a little grim. "Please, Elena. I didn't do it."

I leaned in further and bit down on his flesh. Drinking his blood gave me direct contact to his mind in a way that he couldn't hide anything from me. After a few seconds of digging around, I knew he was telling the truth. I released him from my hold and got to my feet. "Damon wants to kill you."

"Because he thinks-"

"He wants to kill you either way. He said it's because you weren't meant for this life and as long as you're alive, you'll always be a danger to me."

"Elena-"

"He's right," I said forcefully as he rubbed his arms to try and get the feeling back into them. I held his gaze for a few seconds before I spoke again. "I'm not going to kill you or let Damon do it, but once the Original's are all dead and things go back to normal, I never want to see you again." I walked past him to the fridge and drank as much as I could before I felt over indulged.

"There's white ash wood in the corner too," he said softly.

I picked up a few stakes and carefully walked over to him. I placed one in his hand and said, "You're going to help me get out of here as your last chance to prove you're on my side. One false move and that stake will be lodged in your heart. Understand?"

I had shut my emotions off when it came to Stefan. That was the way it had to be from now on. "Follow me," he said tightly. He was trying to keep his emotions from me, but I could tell he was hurt beyond repair. I had broken his heart all over again and I knew it was going to be several hundred years before he could even begin to get over it.

"Where are we?" I asked as I followed him out of a basement and up to a very upscale kitchen.

"The Hamptons. Everilde likes to be flashy," he explained casually.

"How long have you been with them?"

"Three weeks. I remembered you had to come here for another fitting and I convinced them to wait. It bought me time to get the blood and the wood for when they did bring you here." He stopped to listen and then added. "I was hoping that Damon would have been with you."

I shifted uncomfortably because I had been wishing the same thing. "Which one was born first?" I asked to change the subject.

"Now that is the question, isn't it?" came the same woman's voice from the bathroom. I turned slowly to see her with the dagger in one hand and a very large goblet in the other. "Brother, why don't you show our guest to her quarters?" she added and I turned to see a man, who I assumed to be Waylon, standing right behind me.

He grabbed me with one hand, the other clenched down at his side and I tried to shove the stake into him, but it bounced off the armor that he was wearing. His closed fist came up and instead of striking me he flung something powdery in my face and I breathed it in. I began to feel dizzy and felt myself falling down. When I could see straight again, I was in the middle of a very large open room. My hands were chained above my head to the cathedral ceiling and my feet were chained to the floor. I pulled at the chains over and over again but it did nothing. "Try it all you want, you're not going to get free," came a hauntingly deep voice.

I looked to the side to see Waylon and Everilde chaining Stefan to the wall. "Of course we knew he was helping you, but it was more fun to watch him try to save you," she said as she approached with a stake in her gloved hand.

"Stakes won't kill me," I spat at her, trying to hold onto my confidence.

"No, but as lover-boy here pointed out, you still need blood in your system to heal and to fight. Stakes won't kill you, but they will bleed you dry." She used her speed to cross the room and I screamed as she sank the first stake into my side. It was in so far that I could barely see any of it sticking out. "You killed the others thinking that you were invincible. I'm here to remind you that you are anything but," she added and then jabbed another stake into my other side.

_Elena, keep it together, I'm almost there_, Anna's voice sounded in my head.

_I thought I told you to go home._

_ Bet you're glad I didn't listen. I can hear your screams from ten miles away._

My jaw dropped; ten miles? How was that possible? I had never experimented with the range of this power, but there was a lot of adrenaline pumping through me at the moment so I let it go. _It wasn't Stefan. Whatever you do, _don't _kill him._

She didn't respond, but Everilde shoved another stake into the small of my back and the pain was enough to blind me for a moment as it severed my spine. "Klaus was the first of us and to be killed by the face he loved so much..." she snarled in disgust and tore open my thigh with her blade.

"I brought her back so he could spend eternity with her and he took Damon from me after he killed her. He made his choice and I had to kill him to get Damon back," I said through gritted teeth after forcing myself to sound as normal as I could.

She had a smug smile on her face and her lips parted as if she were going to say something and then she hesitated. Her stance straightened and her head cocked to the side as though she were listening to something. "Waylon, we have visitors. You'll still be bleeding when I get back," she said to me and as she walked past Stefan, she ruffled his hair. "You can watch her die."

"Why aren't you using your powers?" Stefan hissed as he tried to struggle against his restraints.

"I've been a little preoccupied," I snapped and jerked my arms trying to pull the chains from the roof. I cried out when even the slightest twist pushed the stakes further into my body and created a new, nauseating wave of pain. "She's definitely the older of the two."

"How do you figure?"

"Because the oldest child usually gives the orders; a more aggressive personality."

He snorted. "Yeah, sounds about right. Always shoving the younger sibling around like-"

"This isn't about you and Damon!" I snarled and moaned as my vision started to blur. "I'm losing more blood than I thought was possible."

"If you had to, could you concentrate on knocking her down with that mind blast thing you do?"

"I could try, but I can guarantee that it would be the last thing I'd be able to do. I wouldn't have the energy to be conscious after I did that."

He was looking around the room and when his eyes rested on me, his face lit up with an idea. "What about telekinesis? There are three stakes in you and two of them. All you need to do is use your power to get them out and then launch them at her at the very least. If she is the older one, Waylon wouldn't know what to do without her orders. Do you think you'll have the strength for that?"

"She will if I pull the stakes out first," came Jeremy's voice.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I snapped even though I was glad he was there.

"Anna called and said she needed help," he answered and I felt a slight pressure on my hip. "I'm going to pull the one in your back out first."

"How did you get here so fast?" I asked in a whisper.

"Hunting," he answered quietly and I swore. "Don't worry, Harper was with me. He's helping Anna distract them right now."

"Did you let Damon know we were here?"

"Of course, now be quiet," he demanded and I felt a sharp sting when the stake moved from when he grasped it. I tried my hardest not to scream or make any loud movements the entire time Jeremy pulled the stakes from my body. He was then able to give me some of his blood to heal me enough so that I wasn't losing blood at an alarmingly fast rate. "He and Tyler should be here soon. The rest of the pack is following their lead."

"Someone's coming!" Stefan hissed and Jeremy hurried back out of the room before he was seen. It was Everilde and she was severely pissed off. "You are more trouble than you're worth. At least Katherine played with us and not against us."

"Well, in case you hadn't noticed, I'm not Katherine," I spat and started collecting enough of my concentration to lift the stakes from the ground. She stared in awe when she noticed them rise up and take aim at her. Something passed in her gaze that had me second-guessing myself and at that moment Waylon walked in. Everilde turned her head slightly and put her hands on her hips, daring me to stake her.

"You're right, you're not like her at all. If she had the powers that you do, Klaus would have never let her leave his side."

I launched the stakes and they went sailing past Everilde and into Waylon's exposed skin on the sides of his chest plate. Everilde looked both shocked and angry as he fell, turned into black wisps of smoke before hitting the ground. The sound of the stakes hitting the floor was the only noise that could be heard in the room. She turned from where he had been to me with a look that was sheer fury. She strode over to me at a half run, her nails turning into claws as she moved. I didn't have time to react before she was tearing into me as though I were made of paper. I heard voices screaming my name but they sounded distant over the tearing of flesh and my own screams.

And then it all stopped.


	17. Chapter 17

SEVENTEEN

I cried out at the feeling of someone shaking me and my eyes snapped open to see Damon looming over me. "Thank God!" he exclaimed and held me to him.

"You're hurting me," I breathed and he pulled me away from him slightly. I looked around the room from my position on his lap and saw lots of blood and other carnage that I didn't want to see. Anna, Jeremy, and Harper were standing close behind Damon and I could hear several other heartbeats around the room. "What happened?"

His eyes flickered past me and I turned my head carefully to see Stefan still chained to the wall. "We got here just as she started attacking you and I thought she killed you. You stopped moving and you're still bleeding."

Tyler and Lexa appeared behind Damon as well and they were bleeding from minor injuries. "We lost a few members trying to get her away from you," Lexa announced and Tyler looked at her in alarm.

"She didn't need to hear that right now," he replied through gritted teeth.

"She asked what happened. I'm reporting the casualties," she said without flinching and turned her attention back to me. "There were seven who ingested her blood trying to take her down; five of them are dead, the other two are dying as we speak. Anna and Harper were the ones who retrieved the stakes and Damon was the one to kill her. We should head back before civilians show up," she informed me and then excused herself to find Darren.

"Sorry," Tyler muttered. "It's her duty to report," he added and moved to follow her.

Damon gathered me to him more securely and stood up as carefully as he could. "Let's go."

"What about Stefan?" Anna asked lightly. "She said it wasn't his fault."

"I don't care," he said and began walking out of the room.

"Damon, stop," I demanded and he kept going until we were in the kitchen. He set me down on the counter and gripped the counter on either side of my knees. "You need to at least get him out of the chains. It wasn't his fault; he wasn't the spy."

His eyes wandered all over my body and I looked down to see various wounds that were still bleeding steadily. My voice was feeble and it was taking all of my remaining strength to just stay upright. "We'll talk about it later," he grumbled and then looked past me. "Harper, let my brother out of the chains."

"Thank you," I breathed and he laid me down on the counter. "I need blood."

"I know, I'll be right back," he said and in the blink of an eye, he was out of the room and back with Tyler.

Since there was light in the kitchen, Tyler was able to see the extent of my wounds clearly and he looked horrified. "Holy shit!" he hissed and then winced.

Damon grabbed his forearm and moved it in front of my lips. "Drink up," he ordered and my fangs slid out from my upper gums and then sank into Tyler's flesh.

It was unlike any other time I had taken Tyler's blood. There was no attraction, no desire, just the need for blood. I began to worry after I had taken enough to make Tyler begin to pale and still felt no sign of healing. Damon pulled Tyler away slowly and they both raked their gazes over me to see if I had healed any. "Should I get Lexa?" Tyler asked.

I gasped as all at once my body started repairing itself. It healed enough to stop the bleeding, but the wounds were still raw and horrifying to look at. "That will have to do until we get home," Damon said and picked me up again. "We'll meet you there," he said to Tyler and with that we took off for the boarding house.

By the time we got back, the chunks of skin that had been taken out from my midsection, the place Everilde had done the most damage to, had grown almost all the way back. Damon sat me on the bathroom counter and I leaned back against the mirror while he began filling the tub. While the water ran, he came back and carefully peeled off what was left of my clothes and made a pile on the floor. "It wasn't his fault," I said while he worked my shirt over my head.

"I don't want to talk about him right now."

"You need to hear this now before you do something stupid." He looked at me for a moment and then nodded. "He wasn't the one feeding them information."

"Then who was?"

"Katherine," I said and grimaced from the bitter taste in my mouth. "Since she was sired by Klaus, she befriended the other Originals in a consorting kind of way. Remember how her blood is the same as mine? They were able to track me through that. They came after me in order because they thought that the older ones would be stronger but they were wrong."

"Anna said that you told her to get Bonnie and Jenna back home and that it was Stefan. Then you tell her that it wasn't him. I don't understand," he said and tore my blood soaked pants off in small sections since they were practically glued to my skin.

"We were at the restaurant and I was on the phone with you so I waved Anna to go back to the table. When I hung up, Stefan was there and he apologized. Then I opened the door to leave and Everilde was there. Stefan drained me and I blacked out."

I cried out when his hand gripped my thigh where Everilde had cut it open. He pulled his hand away, but the anger was still there. "He drained you? Why didn't you let me kill that bastard?"

"He also saved me," I added and then told him everything Stefan had told me. "I looked into his mind by taking his blood. He was telling me the truth."

Damon took off the last bit of clothing and went to shut the water off now that the tub was full. "If you say he is, I believe you, but I don't trust him and I never will."

He picked me up and lowered me carefully into the tub. The water instantly turned a pinkish color as it mixed with my blood, but the scalding heat was soothing, allowing me to ignore it. "I told him he could come back until Velken was killed. After that I made it very clear that I didn't want to see him ever again."

He nodded, but he was biting his lip. Since his hand was on my skin, washing the blood off of it, I could hear his thoughts as clearly as if he were speaking them out loud. He was thinking about killing his brother the next time he saw him, but he didn't want to say anything. "I want to, but I won't until I know you won't be mad at me," he explained, knowing that I had been tuning in. "I'm going to get some more blood for you," he added and headed out of the bathroom.

I took the washrag that was hanging on the side of the tub and began rubbing my skin to clear it off of any remnants of blood until Damon got back. He took the washrag from me and handed me three blood bags. While I drank, he gently scrubbed my skin. We repeated the process several times between him changing out the water until I was just worn out mentally though my body was healed on the outside. He refilled the tub one last time and the water stayed clear. I watched him as he washed his hands in the sink and his brow shot up when he turned around. "Why are you still dressed?" I asked.

"Thought you'd never ask," he replied and started shucking his clothes.

I moved forward so that he could slip in behind me and then settled back against his chest. We stayed like that for the longest time before I brought up the topic I knew we couldn't leave alone. "When do you think Velken will come after me?"

His arms circled around my waist under the water and his chin was resting atop of my head. "You're not going to like my answer."

"Probably not," I muttered as I moved my hands over his.

"He's the last of them and you're the reason his 'family' is dead. He's going to show up at the wedding."

I stilled and closed my eyes. "I was thinking that too."

"It's where all your family will be gathered and if I were Velken, I would do the same thing. What better way to get revenge?"

I sighed and moved so I could turn around and face him. "Then I think when everyone's a little better, we should start planning."

"I agree."

"And we should keep this from Jenna. She would freak out if she knew about this."

He nodded and I maneuvered my way in the water so that I was lying over him, but semi-floating at the same time. I leaned in and kissed him deeply. He was smirking when I pulled away. "I take it you're feeling better."

"Much," I replied and smiled back at him. "I think it's time to get out of this tub," I added and stood up. He followed my movement and beat me to the towels, drying me off before drying himself. My hair was still damp since he had washed it, but it was dry enough that it wasn't dripping. I put my hand in his and we walked into the bedroom, slipping under the covers. I snuggled up against him, and draped my arm over his waist. After a few moments, my fingers absently moving over his skin while I reminisced about the day. "Today sucked."

"You can say that again," he laughed and kissed my forehead.

There was a knock at the door and it cracked open carefully but nobody came in. "Is it safe to come in?" came Bonnie's voice.

I giggled, "Yes."

She stepped around the door and smiled half-heartedly. "I just wanted to tell you that everyone's back and so is Stefan."

I nodded, "Thanks."

"And Jenna was a little worried at first, but she's okay now that she knows you're home and safe."

"What did you tell her?"

"That Stefan was there and he wanted to talk so Anna sent both of us home and she stayed to make sure you were okay. Of course she didn't believe that, but once we knew what was going on, I was able to tell her. She took it a lot better than I thought." She cleared her throat and opened the door. "That being said, feel better and goodnight," she added and then shut the door behind her.

I settled back against the pillow and sighed. "Did I mention today really sucked?"

He pulled me to him so that my back was resting against his chest and his arm draped securely over my side. "Get some rest; you need it."

"Thank you for coming to my rescue."

He grinned against my shoulder and placed a gentle kiss there. "Apparently, it's my favorite pass time."

"Ha ha," I said sarcastically, but I was grinning. "I love you."

"I love you too," he replied and the moment I closed my eyes, I fell asleep.


	18. Chapter 18

**a/n: for those of you that live on the East Coast of the US, I just wanted to say I live in the one of the weird states that has school running from Aug-May instead of Sept-June...so if anyone's thinking my time line seems really strange, it's because I completely forgot that not all states are the same.**

EIGHTEEN

It had been a week since the latest attack and it had taken me that long to fully heal. All my flesh had grown back though it was still sore and raw to the touch, but other than that I was fine. Stefan was back in his room, but he kept to himself and only came out when he knew that he wouldn't be seeing either Damon or me. While Damon was helping the wolves pack up to go home, Bonnie came in and we lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling. The radio was on, giving off some background noise while we lay there. It was the first time I had seen her since that night and I could tell that she didn't know where to start on the list of things she needed to talk to me about.

I turned to her and she followed my lead. "What's up?" I asked.

"It's about me becoming a vampire."

I shifted uncomfortably; I did not want to be having this discussion. "What did you decide?"

She reached over with her hand to lace our fingers together and she squeezed lightly. "I'm really going to miss you, but it's not the lifestyle I want. Too much blood."

I grinned and tried to hold back the hysterical laughter I could feel bubbling up inside me. "The typical vampire does not have a life like mine."

She smirked and nodded. "I can only imagine."

When she withdrew her hand I moved to lie on my stomach and rested my head on my hands while I looked at her. "So what are you going to do when we leave? Have you picked a college?"

"Not exactly," she replied and adjusted so that she was laying her on side. "There's an online community for witches that I've been addicted to lately."

"There is?"

"It's a spelled site," she admitted and I shrugged.

"Of course."

"I've been thinking about moving elsewhere to open a shop of my own and there's a woman I've been chatting a lot with in New Orleans. She invited me to come out and work for her. The market is huge since there are all the tourists and whatnot. They suffered a great deal after Katrina, but Melanie, the lady with the shop, said things are finally starting to go back to normal."

Hearing her talk so passionately about this made me smile warmly. "Bonnie, I think that's amazing. I'm so happy for you," I said and leaned over to give her something like a hug.

"She even has a duplex that she's going to rent out to me. I know it's bad to take offers like this from the Internet, but the site is only for witches and warlocks."

"I can always go with you to help set up and see if everything checks out."

"I wasn't going to ask, but that would be very helpful."

Before I could say anything else, my phone rang. Rather than move to get it, I used the telekinesis to bring it to me. Bonnie shook her head and laughed as I answered it to Jenna. "Hey, are you busy tonight?" she asked.

"Nope."

"Good. I need to talk to Jeremy and there's a few other things I need to tell the two of you. How about we do a dinner tonight? I told him to bring Anna so please bring Damon."

"What are you cooking?" I asked cautiously.

"I'm not cooking a thing," she assured me with laughter. "Six okay?"

"Sounds perfect. We'll see you then," I said and hung up.

"So, just to be nosy, have you talked to Stefan at all?"

"No," I replied and put my head on the pillow, turning my face so that I could still see her. "I don't know what to say to him and it would just make everything more tense and awkward than it already is."

"At the risk of being _really_ nosy, why did he run the first time?"

"Apparently he wasn't just not over me, he's still completely head-over-heals in love with me and he was afraid to let me see it. I did kind of attack him so I really don't blame him for running. I just wish he had come back instead of staying away for so long. Damon really wouldn't have killed him."

Her brow rose slightly. "You sure about that?"

"No," I said meekly and sighed.

We were silent as the radio played one of our favorite songs and when it was over, we were both grinning. "I miss this."

"Miss what?"

"Just lying in bed all day talking, listening to music, watching movies, pigging out; just being a normal human."

"Me too sometimes."

"Do you ever wish you had followed my advice and not gotten involved with Stefan?"

I narrowed my eyes at her though I was smirking. "Sometimes, but I something like this would have happened anyway. I really wish I could go back in time to about seven hundred years ago and kill Katherine before she met Klaus."

"Then you'd never have been born."

"Completely okay with me," I said and closed my eyes. "I need to tell Damon-"

"Tell Damon what?" he asked as he entered the room.

Bonnie and I both smiled at him as he eyed the two of us in amusement. "That Jenna invited us to dinner tonight and no, she's not cooking."

"Thank God," he replied and leaned against the wall. "The wolves have left, but a few of them stayed behind."

"Who?"

"Lexa and Darren and a few others but I don't really remember their names."

Bonnie pulled her phone from her pocket and sat upright quickly. "I was supposed to be at my mom's ten minutes ago. See you later," she said and dashed from the room.

Damon took her place and pulled me to him. "She doesn't want me to turn her. Which is good because I wasn't so sure I would be able to do it. I told her I would because it was her choice, but still."

"What is she going to do?"

"She's moving to New Orleans. Apparently, there's a site just for witches and she met someone who's willing to give her a job and an apartment. When this is all over, I told her we would help her move and check everything out."

"Sounds good to me."

I smiled and relaxed against him. "What time is it?"

"Around one. Plenty of time for a nap before we have to leave," he said knowing that was why I was asking. Since Everilde's torture had taken such a toll on my body, this past week had been filled with more sleep than I had ever gotten.

"Wake me up at four-thirty?" I asked.

"Sure," he replied and kissed the top of my head, his hands moving up and down my back in a calming way. It helped me fall asleep faster than usual and before I knew it, it was time to get up and get ready.

We left a little earlier than we usually did because we decided to drive over there rather than use our speed. Jeremy was waiting on the front porch when we got there and he stood up as we climbed the stairs. "Glad you're feeling better," he said after hugging me and waving hello to Damon.

"I'll be inside," Damon said and then Jeremy and I were alone.

"Hey, I can't imagine how awkward it is at the house with Stefan there, so I just wanted to offer the empty room at the house I'm staying at."

"You're still living at the place Pearl found when she got out of the tomb?" I asked, trying very hard to keep my thoughts from the first and only time I had ever been there.

"Yeah, why?"

"Did Anna ever tell you about the other tomb vampires?"

He narrowed his eyes in confusion and shook his head. "No she hasn't."

We sat on the little swing that was on the side of the patio and I stared at the ground instead of at Jeremy. "The short version is that the other vampires in the tomb wanted Stefan and Damon dead. Since they'd been locked up because of them. They kidnapped Stefan and tortured him in the basement. Alaric, Damon, and I went to rescue him and when I brought him to the car, there was one who followed us and..." my voice trailed off and my eyes snapped closed as I relived Stefan's fangs piercing the inside of my wrist. I looked at Jeremy then and sighed. "Stefan took my blood in order to save us both. It was the first time he had had human blood since becoming a vampire. It's what started this whole...thing," I said and waved my hands.

"That explains why you never visit," he grumbled and took my hands in his. "Anna never told me about that."

"To be fair to her and Pearl, they weren't there that day. They had no idea of what was going on until it was too late."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know there was that much of a backstory," he said when he saw the tears gathering in my eyes.

"Don't worry about it. Thanks for the offer, but no thank you." I laughed as I stood up and wiped away my tears.

"What?"

"I still find it hilarious that even as blood sucking monsters, boys still get nervous when a girl cries."

He smiled as he stood up and put his arm around my shoulders. "Do you know what Jenna wants to talk to us about?"

"Part of it," I answered and stopped him from opening the door. "If Damon sees me crying, he's probably going to hurt you."

He took a step back from the door and clasped his hands behind his back. "Can you tell me what it is?"

"It's not my place to tell you," I said and used the frosted glass windows on the side of the door to make sure I looked fine before I opened the door and walked in.

"Everything okay?" Damon asked as we came into the kitchen.

I nodded and smiled at him. "I'll explain later."

"Jeremy, Elena, can you come with me into the office please?" Jenna asked and headed down the hall before we answered. We sat down at her desk with her and she leaned back in the chair. "Jeremy, this part Elena already knows...I'm selling the house."

His eyes widened and his body tenses, but other than that he showed no emotion. "You are?"

"I know it's the last thing that you have to remind you of your parents, but I can't live here for the rest of my life if I want to move on from my sister's death. Since you and Elena are the estate holders, I need you to sign the deed over to me so that I can sell it and Alaric and I can move."

"Where are you thinking of moving to?" he asked.

"We've settled on Phoenix, Arizona. For now at least. Alaric might change his mind again," she said with a small smile.

Jeremy nodded and we both watched him intently. "Okay, just tell me when and what you need me to do and I'll do it."

"You will?" we asked at the same time.

He looked between the two of us and shrugged. "I don't live here anymore. Anna and I are leaving after... When things get better around here and you'll need the money from this house to buy a new one."

"I'm so proud of you Jer! I really thought you would throw a fit," Jenna said and breathed a sigh of relief.

He grinned. "That was drugged up Jeremy. This is level-headed Jeremy."

I smiled and looked at Jenna. "And the other bit of news you wanted to share?"

"I had a client meet me here instead of my office the other day and they fell in love with the house. They want to buy it and after I explained the situation, they said they would wait to buy until I was ready to sell. Would you be able to meet me at City Hall tomorrow to sign the papers?"

"Yeah," I answered, still in awe of how fast this was going. "What about the wedding?"

She smiled brightly and I narrowed my eyes at her. "Two things. First, I did tell them we were using the house for the wedding since out of town guests were coming in and since they live here as well, they understood. If everything goes as planned, we'll be moving out two weeks after the wedding."

"They agreed to wait that long? That's almost three months away."

She bit her lip. "The second part is that Alaric and I agreed that it's best to move the wedding up. Instead of the end of June, it would be the end of May when school lets out."

"Like that weekend?" Jeremy asked. "Why?"

She nodded and my eyes widened as I realized what she was going to say without having to read her mind. "Well, that's the other thing. I found out four days ago that I'm nine weeks pregnant and if I wait three months, I might not fit into my dress."

In an instant, we were all standing and on the other side of the desk with Jenna in between us. "Congratulations!" we both said and held her carefully.

"I'm going to tell Anna I have a cousin on the way!" he exclaimed and rushed from the room.

Jenna grabbed my hands. "I know the baby won't be-"

"Blood doesn't always dictate family," I interrupted and beamed at her. "Um, I know the godparent issue will come up eventually, but you can't exactly name any of us who are...undead."

She nodded. "I thought of that already. I was thinking John and Bonnie."

"Really?" I asked and looked at her strangely. "Interesting."

She smiled and started walking out of the office. "Come on, let's eat."


	19. Chapter 19

**a/n: I know I've been time jumping, but I didn't want to drag the story out too much. As always, thank you Zoraya Windwalker for being my beta reader :)**

NINETEEN

The following weeks were full of nothing but wedding plans. Even running into Stefan at the boarding house wasn't as awkward as it should have been and he was going out of his way to help us. Before we knew it, it was the day before the wedding. "I can't believe this is happening. It was only six months ago that we got home," I said after waking up with Damon.

"What do you need to do today?"

"Make sure the cake is going to be delivered to the right place, check on the flowers, and double check on the church. Then all of the girls are staying at Jenna's tonight so we can help her get ready in the morning. Pearl and Anna will be there so you shouldn't have to worry too much."

"Anna was with you last time," he pointed out. "I know you don't want me inside, but I will be outside watching the house."

"I'm not going to make you stay outside. You can come in the house. I just thought you would like to throw Alaric a bachelors party," I said and smirked at his reaction.

"A real one?" he asked, brows arched. "I'm not so sure Alaric is that kind of guy," he added.

"If Jenna weren't pregnant, we'd be having a real bachelorette party. Instead we're just going to be watching movies, playing games, and whatever else we can think of." I hooked my leg over his and sat up on his abdomen. "You guys do whatever you want; no one's going to get mad."

"You sure about that?" he asked, reaching up to grip my sides firmly.

"All of you are attached to women who are strong enough to hurt you if you do anything stupid," I said playfully and winked before leaning forward. "Besides, I'm pretty sure you can all control yourselves," I added and closed the gap to kiss him.

He reached up to cup my face and pulled my head back far enough so he could talk. "Do we have to bring Stefan?"

"Completely up to you," I breathed and tipped my head to the side. "Are you really thinking of your brother right now?"

He growled and rolled so that I was beneath him. He kissed me deeply while I ran my hands over his back. We were both only wearing our night clothes which meant lounging pants for him and a flimsy little nightgown for me. I felt one of his hands slide down my side and shivered when his fingers gently scraped my thigh before pulling the nightgown up to my stomach. "Not hurting you am I?" he asked.

I moved so I was on top again and looked down at him with a cocky grin. "Like you could ever hurt me," I teased and reached down to shove the lounging pants from his hips. With that, I lowered myself onto him. He sat up along with me and thrust deeply a couple of times before pushing forward so I was beneath him again, this time with my head at the foot of the bed. I wrapped my legs around his waist and dug my nails into his shoulders. He leaned down to kiss my neck and I groaned at the feel of his fangs piercing my skin and my eyes snapped shut as he increased his pace. My head arched back onto the bed as my back did the same and he came along with me. He gave one final thrust and then collapsed on top of me, licking the little bit of blood from my skin as he did so.

I sighed when I realized I really had to get up and get going since there were plenty of things I had to do today. I slipped out from under him and got to my feet. "Where are you going?"

"I have to get dressed and start my errands. If you're going to come with me, we might as well save time by sharing a shower," I said with a smirk and sauntered off to the bathroom. Sure enough, he was there in the shower with me the second I stepped in. What a great way to start the day.

* * *

"Do you think the boys are having the typical bachelor party?" Jenna asked once Pearl, Anna, Bonnie, Lexa, and I were settled into Jenna's house for the night. Lexa and Anna had become fast friends since they had met and she was the only other girl at the boarding house besides Bonnie and myself.

I shrugged. "Jeremy is the best man right?"

"I think so."

"Then I believe you're fine."

She looked at me with narrowed eyes and a hand on her hip. "Yes, but Damon is a groomsman."

I tried to hide my smile but failed. "Worst case scenario, they go to a strip club; so what? It's not like they're going to take the girls home for the night. If you want we can go to one."

"Elena!" she exclaimed and threw her pen at me. Her face was turning a bright shade of red and it made me laugh.

"You're pregnant Jenna, not dead." She tilted her head. "I'm technically undead."

"I don't think so," she said and shook her head. "I've had enough party days and I'm pretty sure Alaric has too. Hey, do you think Stefan will be okay at the wedding and reception? I know everyone's really tense around him, but I feel bad."

"I do too," I said lightly but shook it off. "He'll be fine. Damon can put his hatred aside for one day. No more talking about the guys. Tonight it's all about you."

"Good. Okay, I'm going to ask this now to get it over with. The cake?"

"Done and ready to go. It looks stunning by the way."

"Dress?"

"Tyler and Damon picked it up two days ago and they are all in your closet."

"Church?"

"Decorated and ready to go. The only thing that needs to be done are the flower arrangements and the florist will be there half an hour before hand to set them up. The backyard at the boarding house will be set up by the few wolves that stayed behind. I invited them to the wedding, but Darren declined and said he would help by setting up the reception for us. The florist will go there after the wedding and set up there as well. The forecast doesn't call for any rain so we're all good to go."

She put her arms around me and hugged me tightly. "Great! I can't believe things are going so smoothly."

"Me neither," I said and grimaced as I realized it came out in a negative way. "Sorry, everything will be fine."

"Will it?"

I smiled, but I knew it wasn't all that reassuring. "I'm not going to make a promise that I can't keep. There is a real possibility that the last one could strike, but we are not going to think about that. Everyone will be on watch and I can assure you that the guests will never know a thing."

She swallowed thickly and nodded. "I want to tell you I won't worry, but-"

"I can promise you that it will be the wedding of your dreams."

"No, in my dreams I was never pregnant," she said and laughed before getting a pitcher of juice from the fridge.

I grabbed enough glasses for all of us and put them on the tray she had on the bar. "Aside from that, I was say you should just focus on yourself and let me handle anything that comes up. On that note, are there any family members who don't know I'm adopted?"

"None that really matter. My parents are both in an assisted living place and they have no clue who I am. Other than that, no," she said and I picked up the tray and carried it to the living room where the others were sitting.

"Bonnie was telling us how she's moving to New Orleans," Lexa said as she grabbed a glass from the tray. "Ever since Anne Rice wrote her novels, supernaturals flock there to earn boatloads of cash."

Anna inclined her head. "It was pretty cool to see that happen. I was actually there when her novel came out. If you want, Jeremy and I can show you around the city. I know a lot of places that only supernaturals can get into."

"Really? They have things like that there?" Jenna asked.

"They have places like that in every city. It is how we operated our business and made deals back in my day," Pearl answered.

"It's amazing how I forget you two have been around for quite some time," Jenna said and set her glass on the end table next to her. "Okay, well, we have a few options for dinner. I can order a pizza, Chinese, or we can go to the Grill and eat."

"Tyler said they were taking Alaric there," said Lexa.

"I vote pizza," Bonnie said and raised her hand a little.

"I'm going to agree with Bonnie on this one," I said and looked to see Anna and Lexa both nodding as well.

"Pizza it is," Jenna stated and went to get the phone.

For the rest of the night, we did nothing but eat, play games, and for those of us that could, we drank. Since the wedding wasn't until eleven in the morning, we stayed up until around midnight. Jenna, Lexa, and Bonnie fell asleep easily while Anna, Pearl, and I chose to stay up to watch the house. We sat in the living room and watched more TV. "Did you bring any blood?" Pearl asked.

"No," I said slowly. "That was the one thing I did not do today."

"We can go get some," Anna suggested and looked at her mother. "Would you be okay on your own?"

"I'll be fine," I assured them.

"We'll go to our house so Damon doesn't flip out that we left you here," Anna said as she stood up.

I grinned and nodded. "Yeah, he won't be too happy, but I won't say anything if you won't."

"We won't be gone long," Pearl said as they stood up and vanished in the blink of an eye.

I turned volume on the TV down very low so that I could listen to things going on both in and outside the house just in case. I decided to go upstairs to check on things, starting with Jenna's room. She was sound asleep with a light smile on her face. I gently grabbed the edge of the blanket and pulled it up to cover her. Then I headed to my old room where Bonnie was sleeping. As usual, she was completely under the comforter, sound asleep. Lexa was passed out in Jeremy's room, yipping in her sleep. I wanted to start laughing at that, so I had to hurry out of the room before I woke her up. My humor died quickly when I heard movement in the bushes out front. I hurried down to the backyard and slipped outside silently before going to the front. There was someone close and I lunged, pinning them between me and the house. "What the hell are you doing here?" I snarled when I realized it was Damon.

He held up his hands in surrender, a cocky smile plastered on his face. "I was going to ring the doorbell but then realized how late it was. I didn't mean to scare you."

"Why didn't you just knock lightly and say you were here? You know I can hear you," I said, folding my arms in front of my chest. My brows furrowed and I leaned in, sniffing. "You're drunk," I stated and felt myself smiling.

"It'll wear off."

"Come on," I said and led him inside to the living room.

He sprawled out on the couch with one arm behind his head, the other on his stomach. "What did you ladies do?"

I grinned, deciding to be evil for a moment or two. "The usual; drink and have pillow fights in our underwear."

His eyes widened as he stared at me. "I don't like it when you tease."

"You love it," I taunted and laughed at him. "What about you?"

"What if I told you we did the same?"

My nose wrinkled and I stuck my tongue out. "Now that is wrong on so many levels. Ew."

He grinned again and pulled me onto the couch with him. "Where are Pearl and Anna?"

_This should sober him up_, I thought. "They went to their house to get blood since I forgot to bring some with me."

I felt his body tense with alertness. "They left you alone?"

"I'm not alone; you're here."

"Elena-"

"Relax will you? Nothing happened. I just went to check on the three living people and they're all sound asleep."

He sighed and nodded. "I've had enough drinks to allow me to not care."

At that point, Anna and Pearl came back and approached cautiously once they realized Damon was on the couch. "You couldn't stay away from her for one night?" Anna asked as she took her spot on one of the chairs.

"Not unless I'm forced," he said dryly, not realizing exactly what he was saying until it was too late. He pulled me tighter against him. "Sorry."

"Alright, well, we were just going to watch movies for the rest of the night, but you have to be gone before Jenna gets up."

"Done," he replied and caught the blood bag that Pearl tossed at him.

"Thanks," I said as I did the same as Anna tossed me another. When I finished, I got up and threw the empty packs away before going back to the couch. "Anyone have a movie suggestion?" I asked, sparking an argument between Damon and Anna over movies.


	20. Chapter 20

TWENTY

I smiled at Alaric as he shifted uncomfortably on his feet while we waited for Jenna to make her entrance. I wanted to reach out to him mentally, but I thought again and decided that it would go against being normal for a day. I moved my eyes to Damon who looked sinful in his tux and he winked to let me know that he knew. At that moment, the wedding march began and the guests stood and faced the back of the church to watch Jenna walk down the aisle with John. As she made her way to the alter, I could hear the quick intake of breath from the crowd that indicated they were beginning to cry. I could even hear Bonnie's breath catch a few times. It wasn't until Jenna made eye contact with me that I felt my eyes well with tears. She handed me her bouquet and took her place between Alaric and me. Everyone took their seats again and the music stopped so that the priest could begin his speech.

I kept half my attention on what he was saying and half on the activity outside the church. I looked around and saw all the vampires with the same concentrated look on their faces. Lexa, Vivian, and Tyler were the only wolves here and I could see their noses twitching as they sifted through the scents of the crowd. I had ordered each and every one of the supernaturals to leave immediately if they thought something was wrong; false alarm or not. _I guess we'll have to start planning our wedding now,_ came Damon's voice in my head. It was unexpected and it made me jump; my eyes met his and he was smirking.

_We'll talk about it later_, I said and shook my head, looking down to hide my smile.

I tuned into what the priest was saying and was surprised at how much of the ceremony I had tuned out. "The couple has written their own vows to each other. Alaric, if you would go first."

Since Jeremy had helped him write the vows and in turn had asked for my input, I knew Alaric's vows by heart. I had written Jenna's with her and could recant hers from memory too. This was a part of the ceremony I definitely tuned out of. As much as I loved them, I didn't want to hear their speeches...again. _Why do you look so bored?_ came Tyler's voice and I moved my eyes to look at him.

_I can recite their vows in my sleep._

He grinned, but didn't say anything else. I settled my gaze back on the bride and groom and put a light smile on my face. "Rings?" the priest asked and Jeremy stepped forward to hand Alaric's ring to Jenna and Jenna's ring to Alaric. "Alaric Saltzman, do you take Jenna to be your lawful wedded wife?"

"I do," Alaric said and placed the ring on Jenna's finger.

"Jenna Somers, do you take Alaric to be your lawful wedded husband?"

"I do," she managed to say over the lump in her throat. She placed the ring onto Alaric's finger and whatever tension had been filling the room evaporated.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride," the priest concluded and cheers rang out as they shared their first kiss of matrimony.

After the crowd had settled down, Jenna and Alaric went to the entrance of the church to receive congratulations from each guest as they left for the reception. Since the bridal party had to stay for pictures, we crowded around the alter while we waited. "Now what?" Damon asked.

"We take pictures and then go to the boarding house to finish the set up in the backyard if anything needs to be done. The reception doesn't actually start for another three hours. Jenna said she and Alaric were just going to go back to their house and be by themselves until it was time to come over."

"I think some of us should go over to watch the house just in case," Anna said as she and Jeremy leaned against the edge of the pew.

"I already told her one or two of us would be standing guard."

"We'll go," Jeremy said, pointing to himself and Anna.

I sat on the step of the alter and Damon joined me. "Weddings have gotten a lot less interesting since I was a human."

My brow arched as I looked at him. "When was the last time you went to a wedding?"

"I believe I was ten."

"That long ago?" I asked in disbelief. "Somehow I pegged you for a wedding crasher."

He smirked wildly. "Weddings, no. Receptions on the other hand..."

I nudged him and he feigned to be hurt. "This time you know the bridesmaid is coming home with you."

"They always did," he said and I nudged him again.

I looked up at Bonnie and Stefan who were being very quiet. "Bonnie?"

She looked at me and shrugged. "I was really surprised that Caroline and Matt weren't here. I know they're a bit angry, but I thought they would at least come to the wedding."

"Maybe they'll show up at the reception," I said dryly.

She gave me a look that said she doubted it as much as I did. "They've been back in town for two weeks," she added quietly and then we dropped the subject.

I looked at Stefan and gave a half smile. He had been really helpful lately. "Thank you, for helping out when we needed it," I said and he inclined his head.

Damon was staring at the ground but I noticed his shoulders tensed. He was never jealous of when I spoke to Stefan, but he didn't like it either. "Don't worry about it," he replied and we all looked up when Jenna whistled.

"Picture time," Bonnie said and extended her hands to Damon and I to help us up.

"Good thing vampires do show up in photographs," Damon teased as he put his arm around my shoulder. His comment earned a laugh from all of us as we walked over to Jenna and Alaric.

* * *

By the time the sun was beginning to set, the reception was picking up and was well on its way to becoming a real celebration. The biggest tent was home to the caterer and the open bar and in the center of all the seating was the dance floor and a live DJ. It was just as gorgeous as the night Damon had proposed, but I had to admit that it looked even better when it was filled with people. I approached the bar after Damon went to help Bonnie with something and ran into one of Alaric's relatives. "Aren't you a little young for drinks?" he asked as I took my gin and tonic.

"They don't card here," I said lightly.

"So you and the groomsman? Is it serious?" he questioned after ordering his drink.

I held up my hand that had my engagement ring on it and his eyes widened immensely. "Yeah, it's pretty serious."

"He's a very lucky man."

"And he knows it," I said and winked before wandering through the yard to find John. He was on the porch leaning against the house with a drink in his hand. "Hey."

"You look very beautiful."

I smiled and nodded at him. "Thank you. Where's Vivian?"

"Talking to Darren. She's going to stay in Mystic Falls."

"So you really do like her then," I mused and smiled even wider.

"I never, ever thought I would get involved with a wolf, but now that I am, I understand what I've been missing."

"Humans," I said and made a face. "What good are they?" I teased and then took a sip of my drink. His gaze wandered around the yard and I followed his gaze until I saw he was looking at Jenna. I looked back at him and asked, "How did you two ever get over your relationship to just be okay with each other as friends?"

He finished his drink and looked at me. "I wasn't infatuated with her as I was with Isobel. She was just...there," he answered and shrugged. "If you're asking me if you and Stefan can be friends, the answer is no. He loved you the way you love Damon and whether or not you like it, you loved him too. Lovers can be friends, but people _in love_ cannot."

I took another sip of my drink and nodded. "I don't know how to feel about him. I know Katherine and Isobel made him do all those things, but I just can't make myself forgive him. It seems so stupid to not be able to let go of something he wasn't in control of."

He took my free hand and squeezed it lightly. "Once you forgive yourself for giving him blood that night, you'll be able to get over what he did." His hand dropped down to his side again. "That being said, that boy is still bad news and I don't like him hanging around my daughter. He's unstable."

I laughed to the point I thought I was going to pull a muscle. "Thank you for saying that. I just think it's hilarious that you think Stefan is the bad one in this family."

"I'm fully aware that he is the lesser of two evils, but when it comes to you, it's the opposite."

Before I could say anything, Tyler and Darren approached us. I straightened from the looks on their faces and felt my heart sink into my stomach. "We've been sending a scout into the woods every fifteen minutes. We sent Charlie a half hour ago and he has yet to come back," Darren announced, keeping his voice low.

"He's here," I breathed and handed my drink to Tyler. "Someone go find Damon, I'll be in the basement getting some wood." I hurried into the house and stopped short at the sight of Stefan in the basement. "Hey."

He tossed an empty bag in the trash and shrugged. "I figured this would be easier than drinking too much liquor and saying something that could turn the party into a mob." I tried to smile but it didn't work. "Elena? What's wrong?"

"He's here. One of the wolf scouts didn't come back and it's been fifteen minutes since he was due back."

Damon joined us in the room at that moment and glared at Stefan. He grabbed two stakes and handed them to his brother after a very tense moment of silence. "If this goes anywhere near someone who's _not_ the enemy, you're going to regret it."

Stefan nodded as Damon grabbed stakes for me and then himself. "We'll leave out the front door. John was there when Darren and Tyler told me so I'm pretty sure he'll make something up for Jenna if she asks."

"I'm sure she won't," Damon said tightly and looked away.

"Why?" I asked carefully.

"Because I told her that if any of the vampires or wolves were to disappear, she would continue as if everything were normal. If she's not panicking, no one else will be." I opened my mouth to protest, but he shook his head. "She asked me to do it."

"He has a point. Besides, if it's just the two of you, people will just assume you went upstairs," Stefan added, thickening the awkward tension in the room.

I cleared my throat and bit into one of the two blood bags I had grabbed from the fridge. Damon did the same and when we had our fill, we headed upstairs and out the front door. "I know we could cover more ground if we split up, but I want us to stick together."

"No argument here," Damon replied, narrowing his eyes when I stopped walking. "What are you doing?"

"Reaching out with my other senses," I explained and shut my eyes to do just that. When I opened my eyes again, I pointed to the left. "That way."

"I'm kind of hoping you're wrong," Stefan muttered and I nodded in agreement. I really wanted this to be a false alarm, but I knew it in my gut that it was anything but.

Damon led the way and Stefan followed, putting me in the middle. The music from the reception in combination with the lighting illuminated the forest in a strange way. It didn't help that the sun was almost completely out of sight and the more we walked, the darker it got. We could see in the dark, sure, but we can't see in total darkness. Tonight was a new moon and there would be no light coming down through the dense treetops. Damon stopped short causing Stefan and I to bump into him. The air shifted around us and we turned to follow it, but always came up with nothing. "It's Velken," I breathed and tightened my grip on the stakes.

The ambiance of the forest seemed to stop instantly. There was no more crickets chirping, no frogs croaking; nothing. Even the slight breeze that had been teasing the hairs on my arm had stopped completely. It was eerie and for the first time in a long time, I felt truly afraid. We formed a triangle with our backs to each other as we looked around for any sign of Velken. The tension was getting to be too much and I knew the three of us were getting to our last nerve when something flew out of the darkness and smashed right into Stefan's head. He went soaring through the air until he hit a tree. I could see the blood gushing from the wound and noticed a rock about the same size as his head lying on the ground next to him also covered in blood and brain splatter. "Get down!" Damon hissed and shoved me to the ground as another object came flying at me but caught him instead.

I dropped the stakes in order to catch myself as I fell and I looked up in horror to see both Damon and Stefan with the same wound. I scrambled to my feet and just as I took a step forward, I was pulled back by my hair. I cried out as Velken kicked out and shattered both of my knees before letting me fall to the ground again. It would be at least two minutes before I was healed. My eyes widened as I saw two stakes lift off the ground and make their way over to Damon and Stefan. "You didn't think you were the only one with that ability did you?"

I could only stare, afraid to say the wrong thing and have them be staked. They could survive the blow to the head, but they could not survive getting staked. "Don't," I ended up pleading.

"Or what? You'll kill me?" he asked, crouching down to my level. "I was under the impression that you would have done that either way."

He grabbed one of the stakes that I had dropped and played with it in his hands. "They won't kill me."

"So I've been told," he said wistfully and looked me up and down. "You look exactly like her." His eyes went back over to Damon and Stefan. "You even have the same weaknesses."

"Katherine's only weakness was her vanity," I said bitterly.

The stakes that were hovering over the boys inched closer. "That was one of them, yes, but she had another. Klaus had made a deal with her that he would let them live, but he asked me to kill them. When she found out, she did everything she could to stop me and in the end made a deal with me."

"What kind of deal?"

He smirked and got to his feet. I could feel my knees begin to heal and tried not to move until I was sure I could strike him and only have to do it once. "The same deal she made with Klaus. I told her if she killed him, I would let them live."

"That's ridiculous."

His face turned into a mask of betrayal. "Yes, it was. However, she had gotten the rest of my kin to make the same agreement."

"She played all of you," I breathed and felt just a hint of respect for her; a hint that disappeared as quickly as it had come.

"The difference between the two of you is that she was willing to kill for us; not kill us," he said and the stakes moved closer. Even I could see them indenting their clothes right above where their hearts were. "The choice is yours Elena. I can kill them and end your life or you can all remain living."

"What would I have to do for you?"

"Klaus had Katherine as his queen; I think you would make an excellent one for me."

_Just a few more minutes_, came Damon's voice. It was weak, but it was there. _Almost done healing; you need to stall._

_I'm trying,_ I said and closed my eyes at the final pop that indicated I was healed. I looked up at Velken after seeing the other stake was just millimeters away from my left hand. "He never explained what a 'queen' was to do."

His eyes darkened and anger transformed his face. "You're right, you're nothing like her," he said quietly and in the blink of an eye, reached down and lifted me up by the front of my dress. I grabbed the stake as I was being lifted and faster than the human eye could follow, he sank the stake into my stomach at the same time I stabbed him in the chest. I gasped from the pain as I felt two more stabs in my back from the stakes that had been hovering over Stefan and Damon. The look on Velken's face matched mine, but it changed from pain and anger to confusion in seconds as he let go of me. I stumbled on my feet while I watched him fall backwards, turning into that familiar black smoke as he went. I was shaking from the pain and the joy at finally having this nightmare come to an end. As I tried to turn to see how the boys were doing, I began to feel extremely weak. I inhaled sharply as I noticed my skin beginning to glow. I watched in awe and horror as the glow began to separate from my skin and race towards the stars. The moment the glow dissolved into the sky, I collapsed to the ground facing Stefan and Damon as they got to their feet.

I could see their lips moving and assumed that they were calling my name, but I couldn't hear a thing. My vision began to distort everything and they seemed to be running to me in slow motion. By the time they got to my side, there were black dots in my line of vision and though I could barely see Damon holding me to him, I couldn't feel or hear him. I forced my lips to move to say I love you, but I was very unconvinced that anything came out. I tried to focus on Damon's face and was able to make out his eyes that were shining with tears and lips that were moving rapidly in fear.

Then it hit me; Anya's prediction. I had met my final death.


	21. Chapter 21

**a/n: alright, now this is the end of my Vampire Diaries series, sad I know. I had a blast writing it and once I figure out what to write next, I'll start posting right away. Dark Alana had mentioned doing a VD/TrueBlood crossover and I'm still figuring out the details, so if you're interested, let me know and I'll move it to the top of the to-do pile. If any of you have a suggestion on something you would like to see, let me know about that too and I'll see what I can come up with. I want to say a huge thank you to all of my readers and reviews because without you, I wouldn't have completed Nothing Without You. Let's face it though, with a muse like Damon, it's hard not to get inspired! One big thank you to Zoraya Windwalker for being my beta for this story. And of course I promised you a Delena wedding so don't worry, it's coming (eventually). Alright, enough about me, on with the story!**

TWENTY-ONE

I experienced the sensation of falling until I opened my eyes. My surroundings were hazy, but I could make out the horizon with a hint of dawn and a woman with blonde hair that floated around her like a halo. Her blue eyes were full of compassion and joy as she lowered to the ground right along with me. I closed my eyes for just a moment and then felt a jolt as I hit the ground with a dull thud. I squeezed my lids tighter as wave after wave of nausea ripped through me and the urge to throw up was almost unfathomable. My fingers clutched at the grass, getting dirt under my nails and my heart raced while I waited for the world to stop spinning. I took deep, even breaths to try and make the nausea disappear and sighed heavily when it finally did. Though it was gone, my head was throbbing and I was trembling. I carefully pulled myself into a sitting position and sat for a moment just in case the nausea came back. I used more strength than I ever had to stand up and tried to catch my balance. I looked around to see where I was. Once I had stopped swaying I narrowed my eyes in confusion as I saw the back of my house. Why was I lying in the backyard?

I made my way to the patio on shaky legs and rested on the steps to catch my breath before I climbed them. I hadn't realized how out of shape I had gotten until I reached the top of the short staircase and had to stop to catch my breath. Again. I took a deep breath and headed for the sliding glass door. I paused with my hand on the handle as I caught a good look at myself in the mirror. I was wearing a strapless dress of purple and blue and at one time it would have been a beautiful outfit, but it was currently torn and tattered as if I had been attacked by an animal. I wasn't wearing any shoes and the skin that was exposed was splotched with dirt. I moved my hand up to touch my face; my brown eyes were filled with the usual curiosity and intelligence, but for some reason the color seemed wrong. My hand slid up to my hair. It was a disaster in and of itself. It was tangled into hundreds of knots, frizzy in spots, and was decorated with leaves, twigs, and blades of grass. I shuddered and slid the door open, the blast of cool air from the air conditioner gave me the chills as it contrasted with the warm outside air.

I shut the door behind me and then turned to look at the empty room. My eyes scanned what was left of the room and I folded my arms over my chest. A chill ran down my spine at the sight of stacked boxes by the door, in the living room and furniture strewn about the room. "Jenna?" I called out softly, jumping at the strange sound of my own voice. I wasn't sure that anyone was here, but it was worth a try. "Jeremy? Anyone home?" I called out with a little more confidence in my voice.

My heart pounded in my chest at the sound of something crashing upstairs and I strained to hear what else was going on. Before I could move another inch, there were footsteps on the stairs and I saw Jenna racing towards me. She was a blur as she practically jumped over boxes to get to me and I staggered backwards as she flung her arms around me and held me tight. "Oh my God, Elena! Where- What- Elena!" she muttered over and over again along with other incoherent phrases. Her tears wet my skin and my hair and left me feeling very odd.

"Jenna, what's wrong?" I asked around her hold that was on the verge of choking me.

"Nothing! Everything is perfect," she breathed excitedly.

I slowly put my arms around her and patted her back. "You can let go now," I struggled to say and she stepped back just enough to let me breathe.

She ran her hands all over me as her eyes did the same. It was as if she was having trouble believing I was there. Her phone rang and she reluctantly let me go to answer it since it was sitting on the kitchen island. My eyes widened as I noticed a baby bump barely beginning to poke out beneath her clothes and watched her wearily as she trembled while on the phone. She put the device back on the counter and hurried back to my side. "Look, John and Alaric are on their way home. You should go take a shower; I still have clothes unpacked that will fit you."

I didn't argue with her as she laced her fingers with mine and led me upstairs to my old room. I stared at myself in the mirror while she went to get some towels and the clothes. I concentrated on the color of my eyes. They had always been brown, but it still didn't seem right. She came back in and set the items on the sink. "Thank you."

She hugged me hard again. "I'm sorry, I just can't believe you're here. I'm pretty sure it's one of those too good to be true things, but I don't care. I'm going to believe it," she babbled and then shut the door on her way out.

I shook my head, deciding it was best to figure out what she was saying later. I made my way to the shower stall and turned it on. I made sure the temperature was right and then worked myself out of the ripped up dress. There was a brush on the counter as well and I used it to work out the knots before stepping under the gentle stream of water. The bottom of the stall turned a murky brown the instant the dirt began to rinse away from my skin and I noticed some flakes of blood that had been crusted on my side. I shut my eyes and positioned myself under the water so that I could wet my hair down first.

I jumped as the scene in my head took me to a forest on the brink of sunset. I couldn't see anything, but I could feel fear and pain clearly as though I had lived through it. I opened my eyes again and took a few deep breaths to try and clear my head again. I knew whatever I had just experienced was a memory; one that I wasn't so sure I wanted to relive. I reached for the shampoo and began to lather my hair. Luckily the brush had taken out the debris for me. I kept my mind blank as I rinsed my hair and then applied the conditioner as well as washing away all the grime that had collected on my skin. By the time I shut the water off, the bathroom was filled with steam and the mirror was fogged over. I towel dried at a record pace and just patted my hair, deciding to let it dry on its own as I stepped out of the bathroom in Jenna's clothes. The house felt even more empty on the second floor than it did on the main one. Out of sheer curiosity, I opened my bedroom door with caution and looked around. It was very empty. There was a mattress on the ground and a dresser against the wall. I moved to the closet and it was empty.

I wracked my brain to think of where all of my things could be and when I drew a blank, I decided to close my door and head back downstairs. My history teacher and my uncle were pacing behind the couch and they both stopped when they saw me. Jenna immediately started crying at the sight of me and I averted my gaze from her in case I started to cry too. The look on John's face told me that crying was in my immediate future whether or not I liked it. He approached me at a half-run and gathered me into his arms tightly. He lifted me a few inches off of my feet and then set me down. "Uncle John?" I whispered, slightly afraid of his actions.

He stilled, sensing something was wrong, and pulled back a little. He looked back to Jenna who was shaking her head. "She came in the back door and called for Jeremy and I," she managed to get out while she wiped at her eyes. "She was wearing the dress from...from the..." her voice trailed off and she put her hands over her face.

Alaric went to comfort her and I turned my attention back to John. "Something is obviously wrong. Would you care to explain it to me?" I asked, trying to keep the tearful sound out of my voice.

He swallowed thickly and looked at them before resting his eyes on me. "I think there's someone else who can explain this much better than I can."

I narrowed my eyes at him and opened my mouth to ask, but Alaric cut me off. "I'll call him."

"No, I think it would be better if it was a surprise," John said with a smile on his face.

"What about Jeremy?" Alaric asked.

"I'll make sure to tell him next."

Jenna got up and came to hug me again as John grabbed his keys and headed to the door. "I'm so glad you're home," she breathed and kissed my cheek.

Even Alaric hugged me and I was beginning to feel very strange. "Very glad to see you," he breathed, squeezing my shoulder for comfort.

"Where did I go?" I asked. "And how long was I gone?"

"Just go with John. Damon will answer everything better than we can."

I stilled when he mentioned _that _name. It made me shiver all over while my heart beat increased, my breath caught in my throat, and my knees began to get weak. Why I couldn't remember the reason for that reaction was beyond me. "I'll see you later then?" I asked.

They nodded and I waved as I followed John to his car and slid into the passenger seat. "I know everything may seem very odd, but there's a very good reason for it."

"Why did you hug me? I was under the impression that you didn't really care about me?"

His grip on the steering wheel tightened and his lips made a thin line. "You'll remember soon enough," he said once he found his voice. I nodded and turned to look out the window to watch countless trees zip by as he drove to our destination. When we pulled up to the boarding house, my heart skipped a beat and I got the sense that I was home. Which was weird because I couldn't remember ever having been here. He parked off to the side of the house and we walked up to the front door. Instead of knocking, he let himself in and I hesitated before following him. "Wait here," he instructed.

I was too busy turning around in small circles taking in the multitude of decor and the immaculate size of the rooms. My mouth hung halfway open in awe at the size of the parlor and I couldn't resist the temptation to take the few steps down into it. I turned around and straightened immediately at the sight of a tall, lean, dangerous looking man leaning against the banister of the stairs. His black hair was a mess and the look in his dazzling blue eyes played at my heartstrings. I gulped and felt my cheeks redden as my heart raced while he practically drank in the sight of me. "Your heart is beating," he finally said. His voice was silky and it echoed through me in a familiar way.

I put my hand over my heart, keeping my eyes on him and nodded. "I hope so." I looked at the door when I heard the engine of a car start. "Where's John?"

"He left out the back door."

I fought the urge to ask why and simply nodded my head. "You must be Damon."

He gave a curt nod and then started making his way to me. His movements were graceful; like a hunter stalking his prey. Before I could say another word, he had me in a hug that nearly broke my heart. It was tender, loving, sweet, and full of passion. One of his hands cupped the back of my head while the other was locked around my back in order to squeeze me to him. I had my hands pointed towards the ceiling where my fingers could almost reach his shoulders. "I thought I had lost you for good."

"I don't understand," I said, pulling out of his grasp with some effort. "Jenna nearly tackled me the moment she saw me and won't stop crying. My uncle was hugging me and being nice when he usually goes out of his way to avoid me." I folded my arms over my chest and stared at him. "John said you could answer all my questions."

"I can," he replied and held out his hand.

I took it somehow knowing that I could trust him despite the aura of danger that surrounded him and followed him to the stairs. He kept his hand firmly in mine and I could feel his restraint. It was like he was having trouble believing that I was there and he needed to be touching me in order for it to register. Quite frankly, I didn't mind one way or the other. He pushed open one of the doors on the second level and I peered cautiously inside. It was a bedroom and just like the rest of the house, it was familiar though I hadn't the slightest clue of why. "Yours?" I asked.

His eyes sparkled with a hint of mischief as he nodded and gestured for me to come inside. I stepped in and sighed with relief when he kept the door open. "This way," he said and led me to an arched passage that had a massive walk-in closet leading to an on-suite bathroom.

The moment I saw the garments hanging there, my jaw dropped. "This is where all of my clothes went," I breathed and he let go of my hand so I could reach out and touch my things. My eyes closed and I shuddered as another memory played out behind my lids. This time I could see two other figures a little ways from me. Their faces had been smashed in and they were covered in blood. My jaw dropped in horror and if Damon hadn't been there to catch me, I would have fallen. "I keep getting these images," I breathed as I clung to him while I trembled. "Something awful happened. I need to know what it is."

He cupped the side of my face, his thumb running lightly over my lips as he looked at me. "You're remembering the events of your death."

"Excuse me?" I whispered at that absurd statement. What was even more absurd was that deep down I didn't find anything disturbing about it.

"Elena, you died almost six weeks ago."

"No-"

"You turned to ashes in my arms right after you killed Velken."

His words sparked the full memory and everything came flooding back to me. Had Damon not already been holding me, I would have fallen for the second time in less than five minutes. I clung to him and cried on his chest until the world fell back into order and I understood what was going on. "Anya was the one who brought me back."

"Are you sure?"

I nodded. "I remember seeing her right before I woke up in the backyard. My guess is she did one last thing for me because I did her job for her."

"In record time," he said proudly.

"I'm surprised that she did bring me back even though she warned me that I was going to die anyway."

"What?" he asked, a little anger showing through in his voice.

"We'll talk about that later okay," I promised and cupped his face. "Right now, I don't want to talk." He closed the gap between us and pressed his lips to mine. It was one of the best kisses I had ever experienced. It was more intense and more passionate than the one we had shared when I rescued him from Klaus. Our tongues were coated with salty tears and I was certain that they weren't all mine. He pulled away at the sound of several other voices shouting up the stairs. "I guess _that_ reunion will have to be put on hold for a moment."

"Not very long," he assured me as he thread his fingers through mine and led me downstairs to be reunited with the others I had left behind. Just as we reached the bedroom door, my stomach growled very loudly and I stopped in my tracks. I looked at Damon and we both began to laugh. "We'll go get something to eat the minute everyone settles down."

"Thank you," I said and he squeezed my hand for reassurance. "Here goes," I muttered and we headed out of the bedroom on our second attempt to greet the others.

Damon let me go down first so that he didn't get caught up in the mob that surrounded me. I barely had time to register who was there before the excited shrieks and tearful eyes filled my senses. "You're human again?" Jeremy asked when he managed to hug me by himself.

"Apparently," I breathed as he loosened his grip and stepped away so Bonnie could take over.

"God damn Elena. I swear...you need to stop dying on me."

I laughed and felt my own eyes welling up with more tears. "I make no promises."

From Bonnie I was sent into Matt's arms. This was definitely a pleasant surprise. "Look, I don't care what happened before; the fact is you died and I hated myself for never having the chance to make things right between us."

"Told you I would get him to come around," Caroline whispered with a tight throat and I hugged them both as hard as I could.

Even Anna gave me a firm squeeze. "I'm glad you're back. Damon was turning into a real asshole again."

I giggled at that and turned to look at him. He shrugged his shoulders and then began to glare a little past my shoulder. I turned to see Tyler and my grin only widened as he launched himself at me. "Thank God!" he growled in my ear as he spun me around. "I didn't think I would ever get to see you again."

"Ditto," I breathed and used his shoulder to steady myself. I was going to say more when I saw Stefan standing off to the side. Tyler nodded and I walked over to Stefan. "Matt just said something like this to me, but everything that happened before is forgiven."

"Elena-"

"Stefan, you're not listening to me. I died. I wasn't supposed to come back and I want to start over. How many other people do you know that can go from human, to vampire, to angel, and then back again?"

"None," he admitted with a hint of a smile.

"Didn't think so," I said and moved in for a hug. It took a second for him to respond but then his arms tightened around me. "I know I said I never wanted to see you again, but that isn't true."

"I know and I really, truly am sorry for everything I did." We were silent for a few seconds before he added, "But I don't think he will forgive me."

"Yes he will."

I pulled back and smiled at him. "We'll see."

I widened my smile before going to back to Damon. He wrapped his arms protectively around me and kissed my forehead. "Look, I know everyone is more than excited to see Elena, but she is human again and she's starving. The two of us are going out for dinner and all of you will be spending the night at a place that is _not_ here. Correct?"

There was laughter and a bit of awkward shuffling before everyone was back out the door. "I don't really feel like going anywhere."

"I already ordered a pizza."

I laughed and leaned in closer to him. I inhaled deeply and reveled in the scent that was Damon. "Six weeks, huh? What did I miss?"

"As I'm sure you saw, Jenna is starting to show and the newly weds are off to Phoenix in three days. The people that bought their house gave them extended time to move so that they could grieve."

"Anything change between you and your brother?" I asked, craning my neck so that I was looking up at him.

His lips twitched into a smile and he nodded lightly. We moved to sit on the couch where I lay with my head in his lap. "He was there when you turned to ash and he kept me from tearing up the reception. You had already killed the bastard who killed you, but I was too angry to care. So instead of the party, I lashed out at Stefan. It took care of all the anger and betrayal I felt from him over both you and Katherine."

"Does he know this?"

"Of course not."

I grinned and shook my head. "I really think you should tell him. That way we can put all of this behind us and start over."

My stomach growled again and I groaned at the unaccustomed sound. "This is going to get very old _very_ fast."

"Want something to drink?"

"Water," I answered and he got up to get me a glass. I sat up and settled into the arm of the couch. He handed me a glass and sat next to me while I drank it. He played with my hair as we sat in silence until the pizza came. I wolfed it down, having been more hungry than I realized and immediately regretted being so gluttonous from the uneasy feeling in my stomach due to the greasy food. "That wasn't such a good idea," I mumbled after drinking another full glass of water.

"Probably not, but no matter what you would have eaten, you would have over done it. Why not have it be something extremely bad for you?" he teased as I got up to wash my hands.

The moment the water shut off, I felt the air stir behind me and I smiled as Damon's arms snaked around my waist and pulled me close to him. One arm slipped away to raise up and brush the hair off the side of my neck. He placed a few small kisses onto my skin and I shivered. "It's so strange to be human again."

"I think it's invigorating. You smell heavenly," he breathed and delicately kissed the curve of my shoulder again. "Are you up for a more thorough welcome?"

I turned in his arms to kiss him properly. "Has the answer ever been no?" I whispered and kissed him soundly.

My arms circled around his neck while his slid down so that his hands could grip my sides. He lifted me up so that I was sitting on the counter and then wedged himself between my legs. I locked my ankles behind him as my hands came down to start unbuttoning his shirt. After the last button, I ran my hands up his chest and stopped at his shoulders before pushing the shirt slowly off of him, letting it float softly to the floor. He cupped my face and tipped it up so that he could kiss me, gently nipping at my bottom lip. A shudder ran through my body at the feel of his teeth and he grinned as he pulled away. "The sound of your heart beating is driving me crazy," he breathed as he moved his face into the curve of my neck and inhaled deeply.

My eyes shut automatically as my head tipped backwards when his lips parted and the feel of fangs scraped my flesh. I inhaled sharply as he pierced my skin and began to draw blood from the small wound. My breathing accelerated and just when I felt my stomach drop, he pulled his head away and licked his lips. "As good as you remembered it to be?" I asked in a husky voice.

"It still tastes a little like angel," he replied and smiled faintly.

"Don't get used to the human blood," I said and leaned back, supporting myself with my hands behind me, palms down on the surface.

His brow shot up and he tipped his head to the side. "What do you mean?"

He knew exactly what I meant, but he wanted me to say it. "You don't think I went through all of that to just walk away now did you?"

"No, but you have a second chance at a human life."

I sat up straight and cupped his face. "My human life will be meaningless if you're not in it. Damon, I meant it when I said I wanted forever with you. Unless-"

He interrupted my thought by kissing me. "Unless nothing. I want you by my side for all eternity." He smiled wistfully for a moment as he looked at me. "Though it is kind of nice to be the strongest of us again."

I laughed at that and shook my head. "Anya said I would go back to the vampire that I used to be once the Originals were dead. That's why the stakes were able to kill me. Who's to say that becoming a vampire again won't bring my powers back?"

"You're not feeding from any supernatural as your first meal. I will make sure of it."

"Good point." I straightened up and looked at him. "So, what are you waiting for?"

"Now?"

"Why not?"

"I thought we were-"

"We will," I said and smirked. "As soon as you change me."

He kissed me playfully and pulled away with a large smile on his face. "Bossy Elena was always my favorite."

I moved to the edge of the counter and then slid off to stand on my feet. I started for the stairs without saying anything and stopped on the first step when I realized he wasn't following me. I turned to him and beckoned him with a tilt of my head. Before I even turned around, I felt the air shift and the next thing I knew I was lying on the bed beneath Damon. "You really want this?" he asked softly, brushing the hair out of my face.

I nodded, running my hands up and down the hard planes of his chest. "Give me one good reason that I should say no and walk away from all of this."

He smirked and leaned in to kiss me gently. "I'm going to be selfish and say there is nothing better in life than me."

I tilted my head to the side and looked at him through half closed lids. "I would have to disagree on that one. We both know I'm the best reason to live."

His smile was soft and I couldn't help but smile back. "I couldn't agree more," he whispered and then closed the gap to press his lips firmly against my throat. A shiver coursed through me as his lips parted and his teeth grazed my skin. My eyes closed the rest of the way as his fangs slid into my throat and I could feel the blood leaving my body. My breathing became rapid and my heart raced in my chest. The weaker I became, the more I had to force myself not to struggle or fight him off of me. It was getting extremely hard to breathe and he pulled away when I began to wheeze. He brought his wrist to his mouth, bit it, and then placed it over my lips. "Drink," he demanded in a husky voice.

I needed no further encouragement than that and began to drink the blood that seeped from his wound. I felt completely alive the more I drank and my head swam as if I had had too much caffeine. When he pulled his wrist away, I looked up at him with a slight pout on my face. "Love you."

"Love you too," he returned and then pulled both of us into a sitting position. Before I could react, he put his hands on either side of my head and twisted. In the blink of an eye, everything went black.

* * *

I groaned before I opened my eyes and moved my body despite the wave of nausea that was creeping its way through my body. "It's alright Elena, open your eyes."

They fluttered open on demand and I found myself looking right into Damon's blue ones. "At least I remember you this time," I mumbled and immediately regretted talking.

He laughed and then waved his hand to someone over my shoulder. "You were only out for half an hour this time instead of days. I called John and he agreed to help you complete the transition."

I moved my head carefully to see that we were in the living room. I was on the couch with Damon on the floor by my head. He got up and let John sit in his place. He moved to the cushion where my feet were resting so that he could watch over me. "Thank you," I mumbled to John and he inclined his head.

"Hopefully my blood won't turn you into SuperElena like it did last time."

I laughed and then groaned. "I kind of liked SuperElena."

He laughed with me and then extended his wrist. I brought it to my lips and felt the pressure building in my gums until my fangs slid down from their sheath. I bit into his wrist and sighed at the first taste of blood. I only needed a little to complete transition and I found that it was very easy to retract my fangs and sit up to wipe my mouth of the excess blood. "I'm going to assume your control is due to the fact that you used to be a vampire," Damon said tightly.

"Maybe the vampire I was meant to be was capable of reading minds and all that other cool stuff?"

"Like being stronger than me?"

I smirked and shrugged. "Maybe."

"I think that's my cue to leave," John said and kissed my forehead before getting to his feet. "Take care."

When he was gone, I looked down at my hands and stilled. "Where's my ring?" I asked.

Damon stood to rummage around in his pocket and then held his hand out with the palm up. There was my vampire ring and my engagement ring. "I have both, which one would you like?"

"Both," I answered quickly and stood up with my hands out.

He slipped my vampire ring onto my right thumb and my engagement ring onto my right ring finger. "Now you're back to normal."

I stretched, arching my back in the process. "I feel like I could run a marathon."

"Or have a night full of amazing vampire sex?" I pretended to think about it and dissolved into laughter as he drew me to him and kissed me roughly. It was in that moment that I felt safe and secure for the first time in my life. Here we were, starting a brand new chapter in our lives; one that was going to be full of adventure and romance. One that did _not_ involve death in anyone's immediate future.

"I love you. So much," I breathed against his lips.

"I love you too," he whispered back and lifted me so that I could wrap my legs around his hips. With that, he carried me up the stairs and to our bedroom to celebrate this new and exciting part of our lives.

A life that would last forever.


End file.
